Rebuilding the Past
by Tenstar12
Summary: Sequel to "What the Future Holds." Read that one first or nothing will make sense! Kai and Yue have escaped the grip of Danzo and the Council of Konoha and, after a month of travel, have finally returned to Kai's old village. Eventual light Ino X OC-Kai-
1. Chapter 1

Rebuilding the Past

By: Tenstar12

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Chapter 1

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: Inspiration has struck once again, and the sequel to What the Future Holds is born! Once again, I give a disclaimer on my Japanese. I use very literal translations for my original Jutsu provided by a translation website, so the grammar will be horrible. I just use it because it sounds cool and I don't expect it to be proper grammar. Anyway, here goes the second part of Kai's story. Enjoy!

Additional AN: By the way, if you haven't read my first fic, What the Future Holds, you really should. This fic is the sequel to that one, so a lot of what happens in this story won't make as much sense if you don't. I will be restating a few things from the first fic, but not enough for anyone to use as a basis to understand everything.

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"Come on Kai, keep up!"

Wareta Kai panted slightly as he heaved himself further up the path, trying to catch up with his sensei, Seijitsu Yue. They had escaped Konoha about a month earlier; leaving behind all Kai had known and loved to avoid the council of Konoha, who wanted to enslave Kai due to his bloodline, the Miraigan. They had traveled quickly, heading toward the village that Kai was originally taken from about four months earlier, but the rapid pace eventually began taking its toll on Kai.

They had been in the mountains north of Fire country for the past few days, and the gradually thinning air was starting to weaken the young Shinobi. Groaning, Kai struggled up the mountain path, gasping in pain as he stubbed his toe for the millionth time due to failing to lift his fatigue heavy feet over a stone. Grunting in pain and exertion, Kai continued trudging after the red haired kunoichi, hoping that they would stop soon.

Yue smiled sympathetically as Kai continued up the path. She had known that this would be the hardest part of the journey for her young student. It was hard on her as well, but since she had lived most of her life in these mountains and had only been gone for a few months, while Kai had been missing for twice as long and had spent most of his time in their village, her body was more accustomed to the thinner air. But soon they would reach the top of this last hill and Kai would be able to look out over the home he didn't remember once again.

Glancing back, Yue decided that it would have to wait though. Kai was barely able to keep up at this point and they still had at least ten minutes before they got to the crest of the hill. Sighing, Yue stopped and turned back to Kai. "Alright kid," she said, "let's take a break."

Kai gave her a look of extreme gratitude and collapsed onto a large rock on the side of the path, sighing as his legs and feet were finally given some long sought after relief. Yue smiled and made her way over to another rock that was large enough to sit on. "So," Yue said once she had settled onto her improvised seat, "what are you thinking?"

"That my legs hurt," Kai responded immediately before chuckling and looking up at his sensei. Yue stared back at him, pushing her shoulder length red hair out of her face. She was wearing the same clothes that she had had ever since she showed up in Konoha: a dark red shirt underneath a deep brown vest with matching brown pants and ninja sandals with her weapon pouch on her right hip. Swung across her back was a large shuriken in a harness, which had mysteriously disappeared after she arrived in Konoha. "In all honesty," Kai said, "I'm really nervous. I'm about to meet people that knew me before, but I won't be able to remember. It was hard enough dealing with you and your reactions to that. I don't know how I'm going to stay calm with a village full of people."

Yue smiled sadly, looking toward her student. He was wearing a loose pair of black pants that were tucked into his lightweight boots, which were black with dark purple stripes running up the side, with a weapon pouch hanging off his right hip and a deep pocket on his left shin. He had a black long-sleeved shirt with dark purple trim at his collar and running down his sleeves until they disappeared under his black wrist bands and down his sides in a wider stripe that stretched around to the front and back a few inches before disappearing where his shirt was tucked into his pants with a black belt and black and purple vest holding it all in place and his stolen ANBU katana strapped across his back. "I know it will be hard Kai," Yue said, "but I'll take care of the talking. You just have to stay with me until we get back to your old house."

Kai smiled weakly, "Thanks Yue, it means a lot…"

Yue returned his smile with a mischievous glint in her eye, "No problem Kai, but we really need to get going again if we're going to get to the village before sundown."

Kai's smile turned into a look of dismay before he forced his fatigued muscles into action once more and continued following Yue.

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"There it is Kai," Yue said, "our home…" Kai was several feet behind Yue, and so was unable see the village or what had caused Yue to trail off the way she did. Curiously, Kai forced himself to stagger the rest of the way up to the crest of the hill. What he saw took his breath away. He was looking down into a narrow valley among the mountains. It had a very secluded feel to it, as if it was completely cut off from the world, which it probably was, giving off a feeling of secrecy that Kai had never felt before. He looked out over the valley floor and saw numerous fields growing the vegetables that the village would need to survive, along with a dense forest that stretched off into the distance, following the valley out of Kai's sight. Finally, Kai found the small village nestled at the base of the hill they were standing on, and why Yue had trailed off. The village was smoking.

It wasn't too much smoke, not as if the entire place was on fire, but there was too much for it to be coming from a cook fire or something like that. Come to think of it, Kai didn't know if this village used cook fires or stoves to make their food. It was entirely possible that being isolated as they were, they wouldn't have the technological advancements that Konoha had.

Pushing out that train of though, Kai turned to Yue, "What's up?"

Yue's face had hardened, "disable your weights Kai, we may have a bit of a fight on our hands." Looking back down toward the village, Kai formed a quick chain of seals and felt his protesting muscles relax once again as he removed seventy pounds of additional weight from his body. Stretching slowly, Kai worked out the last bits of lingering soreness before nodding to Yue and activating his second level Miraigan, he was as ready for battle as he could be.

"Let's go," Yue said, hitting the downward slope at a sprint, knowing that Kai would be able to keep up now that his weights were off. Wincing slightly, Kai followed her, running low to the ground with his arms spread to each side. Now that his Miraigan was active, he was able to avoid stubbing his toes on irregular rocks by paying attention to any tingling feelings his bloodline gave him, warning him of an upcoming injury. In less than a minute, the two Shinobi had covered a distance that would have taken them a few hours if they had walked.

Still following his sensei, Kai slowed down and took shelter with her behind a large boulder. "Alright Kai," Yue said, "I don't know what's going on here, but that was far too much smoke coming out of the village. There could be trouble, so I want you to follow my lead. It's possible that it's nothing, but just in case, I want you on your guard."

"Hai," Kai nodded as Yue moved out from behind the boulder and started toward the now visible gates to the village at a normal walking pace. Kai followed her, imitating his closest friend from Konoha by placing his hands behind his head as he walked, betraying his nerves to anyone who knew what to look for.

As the two approached the village, a voice called out from the guardhouse beside the gates, "Halt, who goes there?"

Yue's face hardened, that was not a voice she recognized, "Just a pair of travelers seeking shelter for the night."

"Stop where you are," a man stepped out of the guard house with a crossbow pointed towards them, forcing them to stop, "you look like ninja to me."

Yue gave out a fake, but believable, laugh as she rested a hand on Kai's shoulder, "And looking like this helped my son and I bluff our way out of a bandit attack before we entered the mountains a few days ago." Kai's eyes widened slightly at Yue's 'son and I' comment, but they were too far from the guard for the man to notice.

The man seemed to relax a little and lowered his weapon, "Alright, come along then, I'll call for someone to take you to the inn."

Yue gave a fake smile as she led Kai closer to the guard booth. Everything seemed fine. The gates weren't damaged, and the guard seemed normal enough, albeit a bit jumpy. If it weren't for the smoke and the unfamiliar face and voice, Yue would have felt immediately at home.

Kai was just confused. He had no memory of this village, thanks to Hito, but he could tell Yue was uneasy about the whole situation, despite how normal it seemed.

Finally, their guide showed up. He was a man who looked to be about twenty years old who was wearing a simple outfit made up of brown pants and a brown shirt, both of which were slightly worn around the edges. "Greetings travelers," he said, bowing slightly as he approached, "if you will follow me, I will escort you to the village inn."

"Thank you," Yue said with another fake smile. Something about this situation just didn't seem right. Getting Kai's attention, Yue gave him a quick series of hand-signals. Over their month of traveling together, Yue and Kai had worked out a way to communicate with speaking. It was very basic, only allowing them to give each other vague directions based on what they had worked out and memorized so far, but it was better than betraying themselves to a potential enemy. Yue had told him to use his first level Miraigan so they could have a little forewarning of any potential trouble.

Nodding slightly, Kai shifted his chakra flow to allow him to view the future with his bloodline ability. The Miraigan was a powerful kekkei genkai, although not many people knew about it. The Wareta Clan was very powerful when they were at their strongest, mostly because of the Miraigan, and that power had frightened the other major clans in the world before the establishment of the ninja villages. They had been frightened so much, that several clans, some of which had been bitter enemies, had taken up arms against the Wareta Clan, annihilating them through sheer numbers. That had been almost five hundred years ago.

Somehow, a small remnant of the Wareta clan had survived, and lived in secrecy until Kai and his mother were discovered by a madman named Zanbifushi Hito. He had killed Kai's mother and kidnapped him in order to use him in a ritual that used a forbidden Jutsu to transfer the soul of the user into the body of the target, thus granting the user a new life. Kai had been saved, however, by the timely interference of Hatake Kakashi, a Konoha Jonin who had been passing by on his way home from a mission.

Kai had lost his memories due to a Jutsu Hito had used to prepare him for the soul transfer, but he had still managed to make living in Konoha. During his stay there, he was able to unlock the first two levels of his bloodline, the first of which allowed him to see the future of whatever he was looking at, at the cost of not being able to see what was going on in the present. The second was more defensive in that it allowed him to feel the future, giving him the foresight needed to dodge most attacks. Kai could use both levels at the same time, as he was now, but it was more draining on his chakra, which was forever limited to that of a high level Chunin due to the aftermath of Hito's ritual.

Kai looked around the village as he approached, slowly increasing his chakra levels as Yue placed a guiding hand on his shoulder so he wouldn't run into anything in his temporary blindness. Finally, Kai found the right level of chakra, seeing himself and Yue fighting against dozens of men wielding battered and bloodstained weapons. Frowning, Kai deactivated the first level before looking back to Yue and nodding, giving her some additional hand signals to show that they would be attacked in about two minutes.

Yue looked ahead again and grimly dropped her hand so it rested closer to her weapon pouch. She was going to be ready to face whoever had desecrated her home. But what had happened to the villagers she had known?

Their guide, oblivious to the suspicions of the two he was leading, took them to a building clearly marked as the village inn, a building that was situated in the exact center of the village. "Here we are," he said, spreading his arms as he turned to face them. As he completed his gesture, doors were flung open all around the village square, allowing dozens of men to spill out into the streets. Each man was fairly well armed, either holding a sword or a spear while several men emerged from the rooftops holding drawn bows and crossbows, all of which were aimed toward Yue and Kai.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yue exclaimed, feigning surprise as she glared around at the armed men around them, noticing the bloodstains on some of the blades and wondering if it was the blood of her friends and family.

"We'll be the ones asking the questions I think,"

Kai and Yue's attention was drawn back to the Inn as the large double doors swung open to reveal a huge brute of a man with an over sized axe strapped to his back. The man easily stood seven feet tall and looked as though he was strong enough to rip an average person in half. He wore no shirt, only a pair of dark brown pants that were tucked in to huge brown boots. The giant stomped forward, making Kai swear he felt the ground quake with each step, and stood in front of the two Shinobi with his hands on his hips.

"Travelers huh?" the man let out a huge bark of laughter, "I am not as easy to fool as my gate guard. Who are you really?"

Yue decided she may as well buy them some time, "You're right, we're not just travelers…and these weapons aren't just for decoration."

"You cannot intimidate me woman," the man said with scorn, "I am Genbu, the mightiest warrior in these parts. I can rip you in half with my bare hands if I wanted, and your son would be forced to watch before he suffered the same fate."

"Is that so?" Yue questioned, quickly forming a plan, "Then if you can kill us so easily, then would you mind sating a little curiosity first?"

The man smirked, "Why not, what do you want to know?"

"What happened to the villagers here?"

The man humphed, "How the hell should I know? We came traveling down the valley, hoping to stage a successful raid on this village, only to find it abandoned with all but the least useful items already taken. I just decided to move in. The fields were already almost ready to harvest and my men knew enough about farming to finish the job, so there was no reason to let the mountains reclaim such a prize without getting my use out of it first."

"Everyone was gone?" Kai blurted out, confused.

The man rounded on Kai, "You should learn to keep your mouth shut when your elders are talking boy!"

Kai caught Yue signaling that she had gotten all she wanted out of the man and smirked, "You can't scare me big guy; I've done more than my share of killing in my life, just the same as you."

The man let out another huge barking laugh which the rest of the bandits join in on, "That's rich boy. You can't be more than twelve."

Kai smirked again, "That's true, but maybe I can give you some proof. Have you heard of Gato, the crime lord who was setting up in wave country?"

The man paused slightly, "Yeah…"

"Then, judging by your reaction, "I'm sure you heard about the massacre on the bridge in Wave Country. The massacre where Gato was killed." Kai didn't remember much from that battle after the mercenaries had charged, but it was apparent to him that the large man had heard stories.

"They say that most of his mercenary army was killed by a boy before the same boy got to him," Kai could see unease growing in the man's eyes now.

Nodding with a sickeningly-sweet smile, Kai drew his katana and took a fighting stance, "And who do you think that boy was?"

Yue had heard from Kakashi about Kai's exploits in Wave, but knew from the boy himself that he didn't remember much from the battle. He was taking a risk, but it looked as though it was going to pay of. Many of the bandits surrounding them were shifting uneasily. It seemed Kai had become something of a legend among them, although they didn't know who he was.

The big man recovered with another huge laugh, "You expect me to believe that you did it?"

Kai kept his face even, hoping this wouldn't backfire on them, "Try me and find out."

The big man's face fell again, but this time into a sneer, "Alright then," I'll call your bluff!" Grunting slightly, the man hefted his huge axe off his back and swung it around toward Kai, but the Genin easily dodged it and the barrage of arrows that followed.

Acting quickly, Yue reached around her back and freed her over-sized shuriken while drawing a kunai with her free hand. With a surge of chakra, Yue started spinning the shuriken while she cupped her hand through the hole in the center. Then, with a grunt of effort, she flung the huge blade, controlling it with her chakra, and sent it flying around to behead the archers standing on top of the inn before catching it and replacing it in its holster once more.

The bandits just stood there, watching as the woman killed several of their comrades before crying out as one and charging. The battle had begun.

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Following the prompts from the Miraigan, Kai easily dodged another of the huge axe's swipes and leapt into the crowd of bandits that had surrounded them. Swiping his sword in an arc, Kai beheaded two of them in mid-air and rolled past a third before pivoting to cut across the back of his legs, sending him down to the ground before Kai pierced the back of his skull with his sword, ending his life as well.

"Stand still damn you!" The large axe-wielder shouted as he charged toward the boy, scattering his men as he went. Kai looked toward him before he began running away, toward a building that was marked as a bakery. He slowed down enough to allow the man to get close to him before jumping and running up the side of the building only to flip off and land behind the man, striking out with his blade as he passed and leaving a thin slice along the bandit's left shoulder as the man shifted slightly, which was the only thing that kept him from losing his arm.

"Damn it!" the brute shouted, continuing to chase after Kai as he once again charged away, toward the rest of the bandits who were gathering around Yue.

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This was almost too easy. It was clear to Yue that most of these bandits weren't used to fighting. They probably just let their boss's size and strength intimidate anyone they ran into. Because of that, they were pitifully simple to eliminate.

Yue flipped over a bandit who had tried to skewer her on his spear and drove a kunai into the back of his skull, drawing another one while still in the air. After landing, she lashed out with her two kunai, slashing another man across his knees and sending him screaming to the ground where she killed him as well.

Then, she heard the fearsome cry of the bandit's boss and looked up to see Kai dashing toward them with a small smile on his face as he lead the enraged man toward the men gathered around her, who seemed oblivious to his approach.

Yue jumped into the air and sheathed her kunai before pulling out a flash bomb and throwing it down, blinding the bandits below her and allowing Kai to move through them uninterrupted, beheading a few as he went while the hulking brute behind him bowled a few more over in his furious state.

Laughing at her student as he toyed with his opponent, Yue drew her kunai once more and proceeded to finish off the rest of her attackers, they still had work to do in the village, although she didn't think they would be staying too long afterward.

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Kai knew he shouldn't have been playing with the oversized bandit, but he just couldn't help it. Without his weights on, he felt so much happier, almost as if his troubles left with the extra weight. The fact that he was fast enough to avoid any attacks that the much slower man tried to throw at him may have had something to do with it as well.

Finally, Kai saw that Yue was finishing off the rest of the bandits and decided that he should finish off his opponent as well. Sighing, Kai stopped suddenly and sidestepped the charging man before taking a fighting stance once again.

"So," Genbu panted as he turned back toward the Shinobi, "have you…decided…to fight me…face to face…now?"

Kai gave the man an amused look, "You should have worked on your endurance as well as your muscles; maybe then you wouldn't have been so easily outmatched today."

The man growled, "I'll show you outmatched!" He charged toward Kai once more, quickly closing the distance between them, too enraged to notice the light glow that was emanating from Kai's blade as he charged it with chakra.

Kai sighed as the huge axe swept toward him from the side in an attempt to remove his head. Moving swiftly, Kai ducked, bringing his katana up to his shoulder, before plunging his blade into Genbu's stomach. In shock, Genbu lost his grip on his axe, which was sent flying into a shop where it drove itself into the doorframe.

"H…H…How?" Genbu stuttered as he felt his strength leaving him, "W…Why?"

"Because you tried to take my home," Kai said before rotating his katana and jerking it up, cleanly slicing through Genbu's torso and out of his shoulder, sending a shower of blood everywhere as the man's head jerked back before fell to the ground, very dead. Sighing, Kai cleaned off the blade on the dead giant's pants and re-sheathed it, promising himself a shower later to remove the rest of the blood coating his skin and clothes.

"You alright Kai," Yue said coming up behind him and taking in his bloodstained appearance.

"I'll be better once I've had a shower," Kai laughed lightly as he turned toward Yue.

"Uh…Kai," Yue said, suddenly a little uneasy.

"What is it," Kai said, looking around, expecting another attack.

"Uh…How did you manage that?" Yue said, pointing toward the dead man behind him, "How can a boy your age kill so efficiently. I'm sorry if this is a tender subject, but I guess it never really occurred to me that you would have no trouble with killing anyone."

Kai sighed and formed a quick chain of seals, slumping a little as his weights re-activated, "I think it has something to do with Hito and the memories he left with me. His influence made it easier for me to kill. In Wave, I don't remember killing those mercenaries, but there were two samurai I fought before I even got to the bridge. I killed them and barely felt anything at all. Since Hito had killed so many times, his experience I received through the memories may have made it easier for me to deal with the shock of my first real kills."

Yue nodded sadly, "I guess that makes sense, but…"

She was suddenly interrupted by a hesitant voice from the inn, "Is…is it over?"

Looking over toward the still open doors, Kai and Yue saw a girl with red hair who looked to be about seventeen peeking warily around the door frame, "A…Are they all dead?"

"Who are you?" Yue said, taking charge once more.

"I…I…I'm Mika," The girl stuttered, obviously terrified, "Did you kill the bandits?"

"That was us," Kai said, smiling at the frightened girl.

Mika stepped out, revealing that she was wearing an outfit similar to that of the bandits, only in much worse condition, "So…We're free?"

Yue was a little shocked, but nodded, "Yes."

Mika began crying tears of joy and turned back to the inn, "Genbu's dead! We're free again!" Kai watched as four more girls, all of whom were wearing the same thing as Mika, the youngest of which looked to be ten while Mika seemed to be the oldest, slowly emerged from the inn with looks of fear on their faces.

"Did Genbu capture you all?" Yue said, anger and concern written across her face.

Mika, seeming to be the only one who could speak, nodded, "Yes, we were all taken from our villages as payment to Genbu so he would leave our homes alone."

"That's terrible," Kai gasped, glancing toward the mutilated body of the giant with hatred.

"And what's worse," a girl who looked about twelve said tearfully, "is that they destroyed and raided our towns anyway. They…They…They killed everyone!" The girl broke into sobs and was comforted by once of the others.

Yue's face firmed up, "We need to talk, but first, let's get away from this bloody place. It's depressing." With that Yue turned and walked down one of the streets, while Kai followed close behind with the five girls trailing him, trying not to look at the scene of gore that used to be their captors.

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AN: Chapter one completed. I had to do a little backtracking to get the descriptions for my character's clothing when I read about Yue having a shuriken strapped across her back… A shuriken that I had forgotten about… I had to cover my tracks there a little, but other than that, no real trouble with getting back into the swing of things.

I tried to give enough background to remind my loyal readers, while still leaving enough blank spots to get others to read the prequel. I hope it wasn't too much for those of you who have already ready my first fic; I did my very best not to overdo it, but I still have my worries.

No Jutsu in this chapter, they didn't need to waste any extra chakra on a bunch of bandits.

Please review, I want to know who is still reading and if I have any new ones.


	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do own Kai and Yue.f

AN: Here is chapter two, which was originally the end of chapter one, plus some extra to take it to a sufficient length…Enjoy.

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After a few minutes of walking, Yue opened the door to her old house, which was remarkably undamaged, and walked through into her kitchen. The smoke had been coming from the smoldering remains of a bonfire that the bandits had used the night before to roast a few deer they had managed to catch. So, other than a few buildings that were torn down to fuel the bandit's fires, the village was relatively intact.

As soon as they had arrived, Yue had directed Kai to the bathroom so he could clean himself up and change into a fresh set of clothes. Yue didn't need to clean herself up too much because she had been fairly neat in killing her opponents. After washing a bit of blood spatter off her hands and forearms, she was ready to face the five girls in front of her.

"Alright," Yue started off, "first, I think we need to finish our introductions. After that, we'll decide what we're going to do."

"You mean…" Mika trailed off, almost reluctant to hope, "you're going to help us?"

Yue smiled kindly, "Even if I hadn't decided to help you, my student Kai would have. He doesn't really like the idea of a girl in trouble, especially if he can do something about it."

Mika smiled sadly and bowed to the Shinobi, "Thank you…" She said, tears trailing down her face.

"Don't worry about it," Yue said, "now, introductions: I'm Seijitsu Yue. I used to live in this village with Wareta Kai, my student."

Mika smiled weakly, "I'm Arume Mika," she then turned and pointed to a girl with dark brown hair who looked to be about ten, "this is Ichi Satsume," then she moved on to a blonde girl of about twelve, "and this is Shinsuke Kanami," then a girl with nearly black hair of about the same age, "her name is Saraske Ayame," finally another blonde girl who was around fifteen, "and she is Kisaragi Naomi." All the girls, other than Satsume, were at least an inch taller than Kai, showing that he had yet to hit his growth spurt, but none of them were taller than Mika, who was about four inches taller than him.

"Its nice to meet you all," Kai said as he came down the steps, clean once more and in a fresh outfit, adjusting his katana harness as he came.

All the girls, except Mika, seemed to recoil from him slightly as he approached; causing him to pause at the bottom of the steps and raise one eyebrow in confusion. "They're probably really scared of men right now Kai," Yue explained in a lower voice, "who knows what Genbu did to them..."

"Oh no," Mika said, smiling widely at some private joke, "it was nothing like that…You see, Genbu…didn't like girls."

Kai was confused, but Yue caught on, "You mean…"

Mika nodded, "He spent most of his nights with certain members of his gang."

Kai paled slightly, for some reason picturing Genbu with Orochimaru hanging on his arm, while Yue laughed out loud, "So what did he have you all do then, the other bandits didn't…"

"No!" Mika assured them, "Genbu wouldn't let them touch us. We just cleaned up after him and made his food. Stuff like that."

Kai recovered from his shock, "Then why do you seem scared of me…"

Naomi stepped forward hesitantly, "The way you killed Genbu…You're younger than everyone here except Satsume…"

Kai nodded sadly in understanding, "I have been trained as a Shinobi, but even still I have had certain…special circumstances that changed my personality. I am able to kill so easily because of that." Naomi nodded, but still seemed afraid of him.

Yue smiled mischievously, "You don't have to worry about him girls," Yue said, forming a chain of seals where Kai couldn't see, "if he gets too crazy, I can always do this!" She released a burst of chakra at the end of her sentence, activating Kai's chakra weights and doubling the extra weight Kai was carrying.

"YUE!" Kai shouted as he was pulled to the ground with a loud thud, "What did you do that for! I can't move now!"

"That was the point Kai," Yue smiled sweetly bringing a giggle from the five uneasy girls they had unknowingly rescued, "I just had to show them that you weren't a threat."

Kai groaned as his muscles began protesting again. The lack of weight before and during the fight had done them some good, along with the hot shower he had just taken, but now they were protesting the additional weight with a vengeance, undoing all the good that had been done over the last hour. Finally, after a few more seconds of laughter from the girls, Yue reset Kai's weights once again.

"Why don't you and the girls go sit down Kai," Yue laughed as Kai pulled himself to his feet once more, "I'm going to try to find us something to eat. If worst comes to worst, we may just end up unsealing more of our rations for now, but it won't hurt to look around."

Kai nodded and followed Yue's directions through the house to her sitting room, followed by the five girls, and collapsed into a large recliner, sighing contentedly as he leaned back, propping up the foot rest. The girls looked at him strangely before they each took a seat across the room from him, three on a sofa, and the other two on armchairs at either end.

After a few minutes of silence, Kanami decided to ask a question, "So, Kai…You got a girlfriend?"

Kai sat up quickly, causing the leg rest to slam back into the chair with a thump, as his face turned bright red, "Uh…"

Kanami and Ayame just giggled from their spots on the sofa while Naomi spoke up from her chair, "I think that's a, 'there's this girl I like but we aren't technically dating.'" which only caused Kanami and Ayame to turn their giggles into full blown laughter. Mika and Naomi simply smiled while Satsume looked around confused.

Kai cleared his throat, suddenly very awkward, "Yeah…something like that."

Trying to rescue the nervous boy, Mika said, "So Kai, you said you were trained as a Shinobi, where at?"

Casting a thankful glance toward Mika for her quick change of subject, Kai answered, "I was taught most of what I know at Konohagakure, but a lot of what I can do is because of training from Yue when I lived here."

"This village was your home? Why did you leave?" Satsume asked innocently.

Kai smiled sadly, "That is one of the 'special circumstances' I told you about. I was kidnapped about four months ago by a man named Zanbifushi Hito. He erased my memories and tried to steal my body with a forbidden Jutsu, but I was saved by a Konoha Nin who took me to Konohagakure."

Naomi nodded, but then her face contorted in curiosity, "If you're a Shinobi, then where is your headband…thing? Don't Nin wear those metal-plate headbands to show what village they're from?"

Kai face darkened in a blush again, which renewed Kanami and Ayame's giggles. "I left it with…Ino…" Kai mumbled.

Naomi decided to continue tormenting the boy, "I guess Ino is the girl you like then?"

Kai nodded, his blush somehow deepening further. He was once again rescued by Mika, "Come on you three, leave the poor boy alone. This is no way to treat the guy who saved us."

"Aww, Mika, we're just having a little fun," Ayame protested.

"Are you five tormenting my student again?" Yue said as she entered the sitting room, her stern tone betrayed by the huge smile on her face.

Kai took advantage of the distraction once again, "Did you find anything Yue?"

The Kunoichi shook her head, "No, the bandits had already stripped the fields bare and there is very little left in the village, not that I would trust any of it anyway. We're just going to have to use our own rations until we have more time to find something else." Yue tossed a scroll to Kai, "Here, you need to undo the seal, I'm…too low on chakra right now." Kai knew she was lying. He could tell that Yue had plenty of chakra left, but decided to go along with her. She obviously had some other motive behind her actions, so he unrolled the scroll and laid it out on a rug in the center of the room.

Bringing his right hand to his mouth, Kai bit a small hold in his thumb with his canine, which had been sharpened slightly just for this purpose, and swiped the blood across the seal before healing the small wound with a quick burst of chakra. Then, Kai formed a few seals and slammed his hand down on the seal, grunting as his muscles protested his movement once more.

Instantly, a huge cloud of smoke issued from the scroll in front of him, obscuring everything in the room for a moment before it cleared to reveal Kai with two white metal cases around his crouching form, sitting on top of the scroll they had just been summoned from. Each case was about two feet tall and three feet long. The lids were all hinged with a latch in the front to keep them from opening randomly.

The five girls 'oohed' appreciatively and Yue took her cue to take charge again. "Alright girls," Yue said as Kai stepped back to collapse into his chair again, "I'm afraid the food isn't exactly five-star…but it'll have to do until we can get something better."

Yue opened one of the containers and passed out ration bars to everyone before taking one for herself, "These things aren't exactly edible, but they have all the nutrients that you need to survive and they can be eaten quickly, which makes them good for Shinobi during a mission. They won't fill you up completely, but they'll make sure you don't go hungry." With that, Yue ripped the packaging off of her ration bar and ate half of it in one bite, years of Shinobi training allowing her to down the dry, nothing-tasting bar in a matter of seconds, while Kai did the same. The five girls had a little more trouble adapting to it, but still managed to keep the less-than-appetizing food down.

Yue opened another container and passed out water bottles before closing both containers and gesturing for Kai to re-seal them, which he did quickly before collapsing back into his chair yet again. "Alright," Yue said happily, pulling Kai out of his chair, much to his chagrin, "we've got some business to attend to. We originally came here to collect Kai's inheritance from his former home, so we're going to take care of that now. Just make yourselves at home and we'll be back before too long."

Mika stood from her seat and bowed to Yue, "Thank you Yue-san. Thank you for all your help."

Once again, Yue waved it off, "It's nothing, don't worry about it. We'll be back soon." With that, Yue dragged Kai out of the house and down the street.

--

From the outside, the house looked just like Yue's, but when they walked inside, Kai knew that that was where the similarities ended. They were in a sitting room much like the one that they had left the former bandit captives in, except this one was larger and was mainly decorated in purple and black. Kai sighed sadly as he recognized the room from when he and Ino had raided the remainder of Hito's memories before they vanished from his mindscape.

The boy took the lead, walking across the sitting room and through a door into a hallway with four doors, two on each side at the beginning and end of the hallway. Kai immediately turned to the first door on his left and, before Yue could stop him, walked into the bedroom where his mother had been killed.

The room was fairly small, there was only enough room for a twin size bed and a small bedside table, but he still felt the pang of sorrow as he looked around the room, his eyes eventually settling on the closet where he and his mother had tried to hide from Hito. Then they fell to the blood stain on the carpet where his mother had died.

But something wasn't right. "Yue," Kai said, "if Kaa-san was killed and left by Hito, shouldn't the blood pool be bigger?" Yue winced slightly; she had hoped he wouldn't notice that particular detail.

"Uh, Kai," Yue said uneasily, "I have a confession to make…"

Kai whipped around, his already tense nerves drawing tighter, "What?"

"…Your mother isn't dead…"

--

AN: OH YEAH! Fear my author given power to create cliffhangers whenever I want to! Muahahahahahahahahahaha! cough sorry…couldn't help myself.

I know its short, but I had to stop there. By the way, I just BS-ed the girls' names. I had a little help from by brother (the one who created Momotaro Kyo) and his girlfriend (the one who created Izumi) though. Didn't feel like looking anything up, so I apologize if anyone finds them to be too generic.

No Jutsu here either, but it was just a filler chapter anyway.

And before anyone says anything, I have nothing against the gay community. It was just a simple joke.

Review please…you know you want to.


	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; I do own all the characters that have made appearances in the first two chapters.

AN: In this chapter we find out what happened after Kai was taken away by Hito. Suspense abounds!

A quick response to Silver Shadowbreeze's questions: I have decided when Kai will return to Konoha, but I'm not going to say when. Sorry : )

--

"Huh?" Kai asked stupidly, "What do you mean she isn't dead?"

Yue shifted uneasily, "I mean she isn't dead. Hito didn't manage to kill her."

Kai felt as if the ground had dropped out from beneath him, "B…But I thought…You said that…I saw her…"

"I know this has to be confusing Kai," Yue said, moving forward to place a hand on his shoulder, "but I promised Ushina that I wouldn't tell you unless I had to."

Kai rounded on Yue, anger dancing in his eyes, "Tell me what happened!"

Yue sighed, "Alright, just give me a second. I need to get something first." Yue walked over to the small closet and opened it up before reaching up above the door frame and pulling down a sealing scroll that had been stuck inside the closet. "Follow me," she said solemnly before turning and heading back into the sitting room where she sat on a sofa, watching as Kai sat across from her in an armchair.

Kai waited patiently, although he was feeling anything but patient. His mind was in turmoil. Yue had known that his mother was alive, but hadn't said anything because his mother hadn't wanted him to know. Kai was very, very confused.

"Alright Kai," Yue started after another sigh, "this may take a while to get out, so all I ask from you is that you hold back any comments until I'm done." Kai nodded and Yue continued, "When you were taken from the village I was out on a patrol. By the time I got back, you had been gone for a little over a day and Ushina was in the care of the village's doctor, an older woman named Ayaka. When I got to her, your mother was in bad shape. Hito had attempted to decapitate her with his final attack, but in his rush, he had only cut across the front of her throat. Normally that would have been more than enough to kill, but Ushina had known it was gong to happen through her predictions. She managed to use her chakra to hold herself together until Ayaka could get to her. She may never recover completely, but she is alive.

"It took another several weeks before Ushina was able to leave Ayaka's home where she had been recovering, and even then, she could barely move without someone else helping her. When she had saved herself with her chakra, she had held herself together, but imperfectly. Her veins had lined up off-center, which restricted the blood flow through them, or something like that. I really didn't understand everything Ayaka told me, but she is no longer capable of anything more than the simplest of tasks without becoming exhausted.

"Once she got moving again, she pulled me aside and gave me her instructions, which included where and when to find you and what I should do. Everything that she predicted so far hinged on the fact that you didn't know she had survived, and we'll have to continue acting on that condition, or else any help she may be able to give you through her predictions will be rendered useless."

Yue looked cautiously toward Kai as he sat, stunned. The boy had just gotten the answers he had wanted, but they weren't quite what he had expected. He had no reason to suspect Yue was lying to him, but that didn't make him any less confused.

Seeing that Kai wasn't going to say anything, Yue decided to continue, "She did leave you something here like she said. Unless I miss my guess, it is sealed in this scroll." Kai looked up and took the scroll as Yue held it out. With hands shaking from nerves, Kai opened the scroll and unrolled it on the table between Yue and himself. On the scroll was a single storage seal with what Kai thought was a blood seal on it.

Sighing, Kai bit a hole in his thumb and swiped it across the marking on the scroll. As Kai sealed up the small cut in his thumb with a burst of chakra the seal on the scroll began glowing. After a few seconds of anxious waiting the seal emitted a small puff of smoke which quickly cleared to reveal another scroll. Kai, now confused, glanced up at Yue who returned his confused stare. Shrugging, Kai took the new scroll and unrolled it next to the first one.

This time, there was writing on the scroll:

Kai,

I know that you know that I'm not dead. This wasn't in my original plans, but I honestly didn't expect to survive in the first place. As I write this scroll, the rest of the villagers are planning on leaving. They don't feel it is safe to stay in the village any more with most of our Shinobi lying dead by Hito's hand.

I am sure that you are feeling a little betrayed right now, but you shouldn't blame Yue. It was all my suggestion. I had already made too many preparations under the assumption that I would die to change my plans now. Yue was against the idea from the start, but I made her promise me she wouldn't tell you unless she had to. I guess you were just too smart for that.

All I ask is that you follow Yue's plan. She knows what needs to be done and all I ask is that you trust her, and trust in me. I know it will be hard to wait knowing what you know now, so I decided that I would leave you something here to help sate your boredom and anxiousness. I hope you enjoy learning to use your gift Kai.

I'll see you soon,

Wareta Ushina

Just past the writing was another blood sealed storage seal. Once again opening his thumb up, Kai swept his blood across the seal and healed himself again. The seal began glowing immediately, the light continuing to grow brighter as the seconds passed until it gave off a flash of light that hurt Kai's eyes. When the spots had cleared from his vision, Kai looked back toward the table and gasped.

Lying on top of the scroll was a longbow. It was about four feet long, from tip to tip, and was colored black with silver metal caps at each tip that, although they looked shiny, they didn't seem to be able to reflect any light. All in all, it was a very simple weapon, but Kai still felt a strong feeling of wonder as he looked at it.

Hesitantly, Kai reached out and grasped the bow at the center, where a leather grip had been affixed to the weapon with two small flares above and below it made of the same strange silver metal as the tips. As Kai pulled the bow to himself, the scroll let out another flash and Kai glanced back up to see a folded sheet of paper and a wrist band with a strange seal on one side and an image that looked like the Miraigan on the other.

Kai set the bow aside for the time being and picked up the paper. Unfolding it, Kai found it was another letter, but this one was not written by his mother. The writing was slightly difficult to read, but after a few seconds Kai was able to make out what it said:

This bow was chosen during the prime of the Wareta Clan to be sealed away for the one named Kai. Clan members with the _Fajoukei_ Miraigan have seen that one day there will be a clan member that will require a bow to succeed. This weapon, along with one other, was created specifically for Wareta Kai. The seal on the wristband was created to contain the arrows for use with the bow. All that must be done to remove an arrow is for the wearer to pass their hand over the seal. The arrows will emerge one at a time, each time the wearer passes their hand over the seal. May Kai use these gifts well to achieve his goals and to bring honor to the Wareta family name.

Kai sat in shock as he let the paper fall from his hands. Yue caught the paper before it could hit the table and read over it before setting it down and looking back up at her student, "Wow…that's pretty deep Kai. Your family predicted what you would need from over five hundred years ago and kept it for you specifically."

Kai nodded dumbly before reaching out and picking up the wristband. After a quick inspection, Kai noticed it was nearly identical to the wristbands he wore now, other than the seal and symbol on it. Shrugging, Kai removed his left wristband, revealing one of his chakra weights for a moment before pulling on the new/old wristband with the storage seal on the inside of his arm.

After hesitating for a moment, Kay reached out his right hand, passing it over the seal with only the lightest touch. Kai immediately found an arrow in his hand. There was no flash of light, no poof of smoke, the arrow just appeared. He had to find out how that seal worked.

Putting his curiosity aside for the time being, Kai examined the arrow. It was about three feet long, maybe longer, and had a plain, spade-shaped arrowhead affixed to one end while the other had a strange looking pair of feathers affixed to it. The arrow was just as plain as the bow with the exception of the feathers. They almost looked like feathers from a bird of prey like he had seen during his studies in Konoha, but they were pure white, almost as if they had been bleached, but they retained their natural, neat form which would have been destroyed if they had been bleached.

Shaking his head, deciding to file this new mystery with questions to ask his mother when they finally met, Kai brought the arrow back to the seal on his wrist and formed a half seal without thinking. To his surprise, the arrow disappeared again. He had unwittingly sealed it back into the ancient seal without trying. Laughing uneasily, Kai looked toward the table once more, checking to see if there was anything else on top of the scrolls. When he saw there wasn't, he rolled the second up before sealing it back into the first and rolling that up. Taking that scroll, he placed it in the small pouch on his shin, alongside the first letter he had received from his mother while he was still in Konoha.

"So that's it then..." Kai trailed off as he cautiously looked up at Yue before blushing lightly, "I'm sorry for getting mad at you Yue. I just…"

Yue silenced him with an upraised hand, "Don't worry about it Kai, I understand." Yue looked at the longbow that Kai was firmly gripping now, "Hang on, I'll be right back."

Yue got up from her seat on the couch and made her way back to the hallway leading to the back of the house. As Kai watched, he walked to the end of the hall and entered the right-hand door. A few minutes later, she came back out with a book in her hand, smiling as she returned. "You know," Yue said as she handed the book to Kai, "I really shouldn't be surprised, seeing that Ushina could predict the future, but that was the only book left in there." Kai looked down at the book he was now holding. It was a plain red book with the embossed golden title of A Beginners Guide to Archery.

"I think it would be safe to assume that your mother intended for you to use that book to start practicing with that new toy of yours." Yue said with a smile.

Kai opened the book and saw a note on the inside cover, which he read out loud with a smile, "'Kai, I want you to use this book to get started with your new bow. If you read it and follow the instructions exactly, you should at least be able to get the theory behind it down. I can help you with the technique when we meet,'" Kai looked up at Yue with tears in his eyes, "It's signed, 'Wareta Ushina.'"

Yue smiled down at Kai for a second before placing her hand on his shoulder, "Come on kid. Let's get back to my place. I'm sure the girls are getting worried about us."

Kai nodded dumbly and struggled to stand while still holding the book and his bow close to his chest. Once he righted himself, he followed Yue out of his former home, thoughts swirling around in his head, and a look of determination set on his face.

--

"Hey Kai," Ayame said, skipping into the room Kai had been assigned by Yue, "what cha' doin'?"

As the only boy in the village, if not the entire valley, Kai had been given an upstairs room to himself, complete with an attached bathroom, while the girls were splitting the master bedroom across the hall and the sitting room downstairs depending on who drew which straw. Currently, Kai was lying on his bed, reading his archery book, determined to get as much of it read as soon as possible. By the time he and Yue had gotten back to her house, the sun had been a few away hours from setting. There was no point in Kai trying out his bow until he knew a least a little bit about the theory of how to use it properly, so he had resigned himself to wait until the next day.

"I'm reading," he said simply, hoping she would leave soon so he could get back to his book. Despite the fact that it should have been completely boring, Kai found that he was strangely interested in the book. Although that could have had something to do with the little notes that his mother had left for him in the margins.

"What kind of book?" she asked, walking around the room slowly with her head darting around, like she was trying to take in everything she saw, which told Kai she wasn't really interested in what Kai was reading.

"A book my mother left me to help me learn how to use my new bow," Kai responded in a dry tone of voice. Why wouldn't she just leave?

"HEY!" she exclaimed suddenly, making Kai jump in the process, "is that your bow over there?" She pointed to the unstrung bow, which was lying on the bed next to him with the bow string coiled around the leather grip.

Kai sighed, "Yes Ayame, that's my bow. Was there anything you wanted, I really need to read as much of this book as I can as soon as I can."

Ayame sighed as well, "Not really, I'm just really, really bored. There's nothing to do around here. We cleaned the house while you were gone, there's nothing to cook and no one is hungry anyway, Yue said she would go out alone to hunt tomorrow so we would have some food for when we leave so she had to go to sleep early tonight, there's nothing to do."

Kai thought for a moment, trying to find a way to get her to leave him alone now and take care of her boredom for tomorrow. Suddenly, he got an idea, "Ayame, how about this… If you let me get back to my reading now, I will let you, and the rest of the girls if they want, watch me train tomorrow."

Ayame looked skeptical, "Training?"

Kai nodded, "Yes, training. It'll be something to do at least. I don't know if you were watching the fight before, but I really didn't do anything special then. If you like, I could amp things up tomorrow to keep you interested."

Ayame zoned out for a moment before nodding, "Alright, that'll have to do I guess. But it had better be worth my time."

Kai rolled his eyes, "It's not like you have anything better to do. Like you said, there's nothing else to do around here, so watching me train will probably be the most interesting thing going on in the valley tomorrow."

Ayame sighed, "Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," Kai said, watching her leave before returning to his reading. He couldn't help but smile. He had just planned on doing his normal exercises and then working with his bow all day, but if he was going to have an audience he would have to run through his regular schedule and just add on his bow at the end. Otherwise, he would have to deal with five bored and possibly irritated girls and he knew better than to willingly put himself in _that_ position.…

--

AN: Why are my latest chapters so short! I really am sorry. I just can't seem to take my chapters past the points I have taken them to. I just felt like I shouldn't go on without making them too long.

Jutsu List:

Not a Jutsu…but _Fajoukei_ _Miraigan_ means Far Sight Future Eye. It is one form of the final level of the Miraigan.

If you're confused, read my first fic, What the Future Holds, and then you won't be… and review…you should definitely review too.


	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I'm currently out of witty disclaimers

Response to the Reviewers:f

I know I probably shouldn't have posted this chapter, but I couldn't help it. I GOT ANOTHER NEW REVIEWER! Yay! Thanks to Gravenimage for his review.

Shadow: Thanks again for your review, you are still awesome : ) Kai won't be getting a boomerang, but he will be getting a giant shuriken... kind of... You'll just have to wait and see.

Gravenimage: Kai and Ino aren't going to meet up again for several more chapters. I have a lot planned before Kai can return to Konoha, and even then, they won't instantly jump into a relationship. I have a few major plot points planned out already, so you can rest assured it will happen, eventually. To be honest, I still have a few more parts of Kai's story that have been planned and each will be a different submission. If things go the way I want them to, there should be at least three more submissions after "Rebuilding the Past."

AN: Chapter 4…yeah…

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Sunrise… it seemed to come way too early these days. Kai woke to the early morning sunlight shining through his overly large, east-facing window right onto his face. Shading his eyes with his hand, Kai pulled himself out of his bed and stumbled to the bathroom to take care of his necessities before changing into his regular outfit.

Kai entered the kitchen with a yawn, slightly startled to find the five rescued girls already up, each of them trying to choke down a ration bar with a bottle of water to help it along.

"Hey Kai," Mika said as she handed Kai a ration bar and gestured to a free seat between Satsume and Kanami, which he took immediately.

"So," Naomi said once she had finished her breakfast, "Ayame tells us that you offered to let us watch you train."

Kai nodded and fought down a yawn, "Yeah, if you want, but I'm afraid it might be a little boring for you."

Ayame sighed, "But like I said last night, it's not like there's anything else to do around here."

"If you say so," Kai said before taking a quick drink of water and throwing away his now empty bottle, "come on then, let's get started." The girls quickly disposed of the rest of their breakfast, either by eating it or throwing it away, and followed Kai out the door.

--

Kai blinked in the morning sunlight as he eyed the clearing he had chosen for his training grounds. It was just off the road that would eventually lead into the mountains to the West, opposite from the way Kai and Yue had approached the village. There wasn't much to the clearing, just a large open expanse with trees at the far end, about fifty feet away, and the pillaged fields across the road. There wasn't much to use for target practice though, just a few tiny bushes, so Kai felt the need to improvise.

"Just give me a second," Kai called to the girls who had situated themselves on the edge of the clearing, resting against the old remains of a stone wall, "I've got to take care of something first."

Mika waved to show she had heard him and Kai turned toward the forest. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for: several branches that were wide enough to be used as target posts but were not so large that he couldn't carry them.

Drawing his katana, Kai jumped into the canopy and made several slices, each leaving a chakra trail behind. He landed in a crouch and sheathed his sword with an audible click, smiling at his showmanship, as three logs fell around him, followed by several leaves and twigs that he had trimmed from them in mid-air, forming a triangle around him. Each section was about six feet long and varied in width from six inches to a foot.

Grunting in effort, Kai drug the first of the three logs out of the trees, much to the interest of the girls. "What are you doing Kai?" Naomi called out as the boy emerged from the tree line with his second log.

"Targets," Kai panted as he dropped his burden in the center of the clearing before starting back for the last one, "only one left."

Once he had pulled out the final log, he paused for a moment to catch his breath. Before he knew it, Satsume was at his side with a full bottle of water held out to him.

"Thanks Satsume," Kai said with a smile as he opened the bottle and downed half of it before replacing the cap and handing it back, "Now, don't blink or you'll miss it." Satsume nodded as she began walking backwards toward the rest of the girls, watching the Shinobi carefully as he formed a chain of hand seals.

Suddenly, Kai finished his seals and called out, "_Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!_" Kai was quickly enveloped in a cloud of smoke, and when it cleared, the boy was nowhere to be seen. Before any of the girls had a chance to look for him, the three logs suddenly disappeared, swallowed into the ground.

Not entirely sure what was going on, Satsume continued walking backward, and almost tripped over Mika. The older girl caught Satsume and smiled before nodding back toward the field. Suddenly, there was a huge cloud of smoke and the three logs shot from the ground, standing about four feet tall with the rest firmly held in the ground, each placed about twenty feet apart at the points of a triangle.

Then, the ground started shaking and Kai erupted into the air behind them, curled tightly into a ball as he flipped over the girl's heads and landed in a crouch in front of their stunned faces. Turning back toward them, Kai smiled, "And now I can get started."

The girls were shocked; they hadn't been expecting Kai to use any Jutsu. The Nin took advantage of their temporary condition to perform a few quick stretches before making his way out to the center of the clearing once more, coming to a stop in the center of the triangle formed by his new targets.

Kai took a deep breath and forces himself to relax before pulling out several shuriken and kunai, spreading them between his hands. A gentle breeze drifted across the clearing, kicking up a little dirt and swirling around Kai as he gathered his chakra, pulling his power to the surface so he could use it in an instant. He was going to appeal to h9is showman side today. After all, why should he waste a willing audience?

Then, just as the girls started to wonder why he wasn't moving, Kai jumped into the air, using a little extra chakra to gain enough height for his plan. When his upward momentum began to slow, leaving him about twenty feet in the air, which brought a gasp from his audience, he used another burst of chakra to change his remaining momentum.

Kai began spinning rapidly, obscuring his form until the girls were unable to see anything but a small tornado that had grown up to engulf the Shinobi. Within, the vortex, Kai was struggling to keep control of his chakra, which was no easy task. Even now, he still had a bit of trouble with his chakra control, but it was easily better than it was before he left Konoha, thanks to Yue's training. He had realized while he was bringing his log targets out of the forest that a simple bout of target practice wouldn't be enough to keep the girls amused, so he decided to take things up a notch.

Most of what he was doing was improvisation, like the wind Jutsu he was using to keep himself aloft, but he had still managed to take his regular target exercises and make it into an impressive, if excessive and showy, performance.

Once he felt he had the whirlwind under control, Kai extended his senses, locating each of his targets before releasing once final burst of chakra. This last burst stopped his spinning and dispelled the small twister before he flung his hands out, sending his shuriken and kunai flying toward each of the three target-poles.

Each of the weapons imbedded themselves into the wood of one of the poles with a soft _thunk_, except for one shuriken. As Kai watched, the renegade throwing star ricocheted off the top of its intended target and began flying straight toward the girls.

Kai barely had any time to act. He quickly formed a short chain of seals and called out, "_Kawarimi no Jutsu!_" In a cloud of smoke, Kai appeared in front of the girls where there had once been a small rock. The Shinobi drew his katana and deftly used it to deflect the deadly projectile, sending it arching through the air back the way it came before sticking into the top of its original target.

"Sorry about that," Kai said as he turned back toward the shocked and scared girls while re-sheathing his blade, "I guess I got a little carried away."

Mika seemed as if she was about to wave it off when the sound of clapping echoed across the empty clearing. Looking out across his appropriated training area, Kai saw a figure dressed in a brown traveling cloak, leaning up against one of the training posts. He was the one who had been clapping.

Before Kai could act, the man vanished, only to re-appear seconds later in a swirl of dust a few yards away from Kai, "Nicely done," the stranger said, "you must be one of Genbu's new recruits, although I find it surprising that he was able to find another unaffiliated Shinobi."

As the man finished speaking, he lifted one hand to remove his hood, revealing dark hair that framed a fairly handsome, although by no means extraordinary face belonging to a man in his mid to late thirties.

There was a gasp from behind Kai as the man's face came into view. He heard the girls moving and turned to see them gathered together, staring at the newcomer in fear, "M…m…master Seiru…" Ayame stuttered breathlessly, fear clearly showing in her eyes.

"Now why would Genbu let his little trophies out of his sight?" Seiru asked rhetorically, a puzzled expression on his face.

Kai shifted slightly, placing himself directly between the newcomer and the terrified girls. "What's this, "Seiru said, mock surprise in his eyes, "the little ninja thinks he can protect the girls from me?" Seiru laughed, "Relax boy, we're on the same side. I am Genbu's second in command, and will probably end up being your chaperone…" The Nin trailed off, mumbling to himself while Kai slowly inched his hand down to his weapon pouch, hoping the older Shinobi wouldn't notice.

But luck was not on Kai's side, "What are you doing boy? I said we're on the same damn side!" Then, Seiru's eyes widened, "Wait a second…" The Nin leapt high into the air, easily clearing the tops of the buildings, and seemed to float there for a few seconds.

When he finally came down, his face was a mask of rage mixed with a little relief, "So, they're all dead. I would guess that you were the one to kill them too…" Seiru flung his arms to the side, discarding his cloak and revealing brown clothing of a similar design to what the bandits had been wearing, although Seiru's were in better condition. But Kai was forced to put those thoughts aside as he caught sight of the katana belted to the man's waist as he drew it and held it in a defensive stance with the blade in front of him.

"Draw your blade boy," Seiru sneered, although his expression was softened by the regret in his eyes, "We have some business to settle and I will not fight an un-prepared opponent."

Kai blinked in surprise before quickly drawing his stolen ANBU katana and holding it before himself in the same position as Seiru. "Well, Kai said with a nod, "at least you have some honor, not like the rest of those bandits."

"Believe me boy, if things went my way, I would be thanking you, but I am honor bound to try and avenge my master Genbu. He saved me in my most desperate hour, and I became his loyal follower due to the life debt I owe him."

Kai paled, once again seeing the hulking Genbu in his mind's eye, except instead of Orochimaru clinging to his arm, it was Seiru. The other Nin must have guessed what Kai was thinking because his head immediately swelled to astronomical size, much like Iruka's had tended to do when he yelled at Naruto, as he shouted, "NOT LIKE THAT!"

Kai took a step back, slightly shocked by Seiru's outburst, but quickly recovered, "Whatever man, to each his own."

Seiru calmed himself and observed Kai cautiously, "Very well then, let us begin!" Seiru suddenly charged, closing the gap between the two Shinobi in mere seconds. Kai was not amused. With a casual twist of his wrist, Kai angled his blade and braced himself as his opponent's weapon struck it, putting the two Nin in a deadlock.

Seiru smirked, "Well, it seems like you have some skill after all…"

Kai gave his opponent once of Naruto's huge smiles, "I think you'll find it's more than 'some skill.'" With a quick surge of chakra, Kai pushed against Seiru's blade, forcing the older Nin to jump back or risk falling. Taking advantage of his opponent's momentary condition, Kai chased after him and their blades met once again, this time in a quick series of strikes before the two Nin jumped apart, Kai once more placing himself between Seiru and the girls, who had taken refuge behind the stone wall that had been their backrest.

"You really are good with that blade…" Seiru trailed off.

"As are you," Kai responded, panting slightly from the short exertion, "but we may as well stop playing around now."

Seiru smirked, "Agreed." With a flourish, Seiru returned his blade to its sheath and brought his hands together in a tiger seal. Kai cursed as his small gamble backfired and sheathed his own weapon and prepared his own seal, gathering his chakra as quickly as possible.

Then, at almost the same moment, the two Shinobi released their built up chakra, deactivating their individual chakra weights and causing a few dust devils to form between them where the waves of energy met. Deactivating chakra weights like that was less chakra-efficient, but it was definitely faster than forming a chain for seals that would only get longer as more weight was added, and in battle, speed was often all that mattered.

The two Nin relaxed for a second before settling into their preferred Taijutsu stances. Kai stood sideways, with his left foot closer to Seiru and his right leg bent slightly behind him. He held his left arm in front of him, bent nearly double at the elbow, with his hand in a half-seal while his right arm was kept close to his side as he carefully studied his opponent.

Seiru stood in a very relaxed stance. He was turned slightly to his right with his left arm held down in front of him, only slightly bent, with his hand in a fist. His right arm, much like Kai's was bent double at his right side. Otherwise, he stood almost completely straight when compared to Kai's half-crouching stance.

Kai didn't have to wait long for Seiru to act. A few seconds after taking his stance, Seiru sprang forward, covering the distance between them in a fraction of the time it had taken him before, which told Kai that his opponent had been carrying far more extra weight than he had before they had deactivated their weights.

Relying on instinct and training, Kai activated his Miraigan, not noticing the look of surprise that flashed across Seiru's face, just as his opponent cam into range and threw the first punch. Just as he had done many times before, Kai lightly pushed his opponent's fist to the side with his left hand and pivoted on his left foot, spinning down Seiru's arm and attempting to deliver a blow to the back of his head with his right elbow. This time however, his attack was foiled as Seiru somehow managed to get his right arm up in time to block the attack. Kai quickly pushed off Seiru's arm with his right elbow and spun back around, swinging his left arm toward Seiru's head, but once again his attack was thwarted as the older Nin ducked under his arm and the spinning kick Kai launched in the same movement.

Forced to improvise, and not wanting to end up with his back to his opponent, Kai hopped into the air off his right foot and pulled himself into a ball before lashing out with his feet and connecting solidly with the man's stomach, leaving Seiru stumbling back several steps while clutching his stomach as Kai was propelled several feet through the air before hitting the ground in a somersault and jumping back to his feet, pivoting to face his foe once more, carefully watching the man as he gasped for breath and held his stomach.

Kai kept his eyes on Seiru, watching for any movement that would betray and attack. Then, Seiru once again displayed his incredible speed as, before Kai had a chance to react, the older Nin was right in front of him with his fist planted in Kai's stomach.

Kai stumbled back, now holding his own stomach. His thoughts were racing. Seiru was so fast he had outrun the Miraigan's warning, or had he just attacked on a whim without thinking ahead. There was no way to find out without sitting down and asking him, and that didn't seem too likely.

Kai's thoughts were abruptly thrust aside when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Tilting his head back, Kai saw Seiru standing in front of him, smiling down at him comically as he used his grip on the young Chunin's shoulder to straighten him up again. Then, Seiru's face twisted in concentration and he gave Kai a chakra powered kick to the chest that sent him flying backward until he hit the ground and slid to a stop next to the girls' hiding spot.

"Kai," Satsume said tentatively, peeking out from behind the wall, "are you alright?"

Kai groaned as he turned his head to face the young girl with a small smile on his face. Then his eyes fixed on his unstrung bow that the girl was holding close to her chest. "My bow," he said, causing the girl to give him a confused look, "I need my bow…" Kai trailed off as he stretched out his hand toward Satsume, who quickly placed the weapon in his hand.

Kai closed his fist on the bow and gave Satsume another weak smile before bringing his knees up to his chest and kicking out, jumping back to his feet. He immediately placed one silver tip of the bow on the ground and bent it before looping the free end of the string over the top end; somehow managing to do it right on his first try.

Then, before Seiru could figure out what he was doing, Kai hopped back to his feet and summoned an arrow from the storage seal on his left wrist band, nocked it to his bowstring, drew the weapon back, and released.

--

The boy was good, no doubts there, but not good enough to beat him. Seiru had been able to guess by the amount of chakra released when they removed their weights how much extra this newest opponent had been carrying. As it turned out, the young Shinobi was carrying less than half of what Seiru himself had.

The boy's Taijutsu stance was excellent and his Kenjutsu nearly flawless, but he lacked Seiru's strength and speed, which put him at a disadvantage. In fact, Seiru had been about to kill his opponent until he saw the eyes. There was no mistaking the three point star he had seen in the boy's eyes. This child had the Miraigan, although it was an immature one since he had only two orbiting dots instead of three.

It had been a long time since he had seen the Miraigan. How had the boy gotten it? Could it be possible…? Seiru's thoughts were pushed aside when he saw an arrow flying straight toward him.

--

When Kai released his arrow he had been slightly surprised. He had managed not only to get his bow ready with no trouble, but the arrow he shot was actually on target. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but he certainly didn't think that using his bow would be this… well, easy, so much so that it almost seemed to come to him naturally.

Seiru seemed equally shocked, but he still managed to sidestep the arrow, which went streaking harmlessly away. Kai shook out of his stupor and summoned another arrow, knocking and launching it in the same motion before repeating the process.

Kai was mainly focused on shooting his bow, but he still had enough general awareness to notice how Seiru was dealing with the projectiles sent his way. After the initial few shots, the elder Shinobi had been dodging the arrows with relative ease, although a few tears at the edges of his clothing testified that they had been close dodges.

Then, after Kai fired off his tenth arrow, he went to pull another one from the storage seal, but instead of the wooden shaft of an arrow, Kai felt a piece of paper. Blinking in confusion, Kai looked down at his hand to see what appeared to be a hastily scrawled note:

Kai,

Sorry about the lack of arrows. I didn't have enough time or resources to make any more. Hope you don't need more than ten until after you learn to make them yourself.

Love,

Kaa-san

"OH COME ON!" Kai shouted, unconsciously slipping this newest note from his mother into his hip pouch. Seiru must have decided to take advantage of his distraction because when Kai looked back up, the man was once again drawing his katana in preparation for another charge. Kai tossed his bow blindly behind him and a heard a squeak as Satsume caught the unexpected item. Kai had barely drawn his own blade when Seiru was upon him, forcing him into another weapon deadlock.

Sneering, Kai sent out a pulse of chakra that knocked Seiru slightly off balance and gave the young Chunin a chance to throw all his weight behind his push, forcing Seiru to jump back again, with Kai in hot pursuit.

--

Seiru was at war with himself as he landed and exchanged another series of blows with the boy he had been fighting which ended in another deadlock. His sense of honor and duty was screaming at him to kill the boy and finally settle his debt to Genbu, but the rest of him… The rest of him was unsure.

He knew he should kill him, but if there was even the slightest chance… If he was really… He knew he couldn't take that risk.

--

Kai glared at his opponent over their crossed blades. He was not in a good situation and he knew it. Their Kenjutsu skills were at the same level, but with Seiru's extra speed and strength that had come with his extra years, Kai was left at a strong disadvantage. He had only been able to keep up so far by energizing his body with extra chakra, but he was swiftly running out…

--

Seiru was trying to think of a way to end the fight without killing his opponent when he felt the pressure on his blade begin to weaken. Then, the boy almost seemed to droop and Seiru took advantage of the opportunity and shoved. He didn't realize just how weak his opponent had become. If he had, he wouldn't have been so shocked when the boy's blade was easily pushed aside, leaving Seiru's sword open to slice a shallow path across the young Nin's face…

--

When Kai's chakra finally gave out, he knew it was over. He could have kicked himself for using up so much chakra during his "training," but hind sight is always perfect. It was with a detached sort of consciousness that he felt Seiru push against him, sending him stumbling back as the effects of chakra exhaustion hit him full force.

Unfortunately, he was jerked back to full consciousness when the tip of Seiru's katana dug into his skin above his right eye and traced a line diagonally down between his eyes and across his nose before coming free again at his jaw line on his left cheek. If Kai had had the strength, he would have screamed in pain as the razor sharp blade cut a trail of fire across his face.

Kai fell backward as the full effects of the pain suddenly hit him and finished off what was left of his balance. He felt the blood running into his right eye and down his face as he stared up at his attacker, defiance still written on his face even though he knew it was over.

--

Seiru was shocked, but kept himself under control as he stood over his downed opponent, watching the blood run down his face as he placed the now bloody tip of his blade at the boy's throat. "Go ahead," the boy spat, anger and defiance in his voice, "finish me off already!"

Seiru froze for a moment, watching the boy uneasily before shrugging, "The way I see it, I was honor bound to defeat you to avenge my former comrades, and now I have, so my debt has been repaid."

With that, Seiru wiped the tip of his blade off on Kai's vest and sheathed it before turning and walking toward his discarded traveling cloak, re-activating his chakra weights on the way. "You will be a fine Shinobi one day boy," Seiru continued once he had fastened his cloak once more, "but you have to survive for that to happen." Seiru then formed a quick hand-sign and disappeared in a swirl of dust.

--

Kai couldn't believe it. He was alive. Sure he was almost completely out of chakra and he was more than half-blind from pain and the blood running into his eyes, but he was still alive!

"Kai!" Mika screamed as she slid to the ground next to him, "Kai! Are you alright?"

The Nin decided against being sarcastic, "The obvious cut is my only problem," he said wearily, "otherwise, I'm fine."

Mika didn't look convinced, but she didn't try to argue. As Kai's vision began fading in and out, he smiled, "I guess you got a little more of a demonstration than you wanted, huh," and then he passed out.

--

Seiru watched from the top of a tree as four of the former servant girls lifted the boy and carried him back into the village while the youngest followed closely behind carrying the boy's bow and his recovered arrows, kunai, and shuriken.

The Shinobi winced. He really was upset about having hurt the boy, and that cut may even end up permanently damaging him, but he couldn't think about that now.

Once Seiru saw that his former opponent was relatively safe, he turned and started away over the mountains. Now that his debt to Genbu was settled, he could begin his search for the people he had been forced to leave so long ago… The family he had left behind…

--

Kai woke with a groan. He felt weak, very weak, but somehow he knew he was safe.

"About time sleepyhead," Yue called out from across the room, causing Kai to jump slightly as he turned away from the wall he had been facing to find himself back in his room at Yue's house.

"How…How long was I out?" Kai croaked weakly.

"According to the girls, it's been about five hours. I just got back from my hunting trip, which was more successful than I could have imagined," Yue replied with a tone that implied some kind of hidden meaning.

Kai tried to sit up, but quickly fell back again as his head and face throbbed painfully. "Chakra drain headache," he groaned as Yue smiled sympathetically and rose from her seat to make her way over to his bedside.

"Yeah, I figured," she said, "between that and the cut on your face, I'm surprised you're conscious right now."

Kai then remembered the fight. Remembered Seiru… Remembered the searing pain of the blade cutting across his face... Slowly, Kai reached up and ran his fingers along his cheek until he met a surprisingly sore spot that marked the point where Seiru's blade had left his face.

"I managed to get the wound cleaned and closed, but I'm really no good with medical Jutsu," Yue admitted, "You will have a scar there for the rest of your life."

Kai sighed softly and lowered his hand, "But I'm still alive."

Yue gave him a small smile, "That's the way to see things. Always look on the bright side. And…" she trailed off for a moment as she stood up and walked toward the door to his room, "I have a little something more to keep your mind off things."

With a dramatic flourish, Yue opened the door to his room revealing the person who had been standing on the other side. Kai froze. Standing outside his room was a woman wearing an outfit that was nearly identical to his own, except without the vest or wristbands. She had shoulder length, bright red hair framing a face that he had seen only once since he lost his memory. A face that may have been otherwise unfamiliar, but still managed to pull at his heart with a call that only family can make.

"Kaa-san…?"

--

AN: There you have it, Chapter 4! I hope you like my fight scene with my newest original character and the nice little twist at the end. I apologize if things have been going too fast so far in this story. I really can't help it. I want to get through this boring stuff that I'm pretty much making up as I go along so I can get into some of the more fun parts I have planned.

A Challenge for my Readers: I want to see if anyone can identify where Seiru's fighting stance came from. To be completely honest, I didn't realize who I was copying until my brother (Momotaro Kyo) read it and told me. I will give you one hint: It is a character from another Anime series. The first one to leave a review with the correct answer will get their name put in the next chapter after they answer and an imaginary bowl of ramen in a flavor of your choice!

Jutsu List:

_Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu_: Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique

_Kawarimi no Jutsu_: Body Replacement Technique

By the way, if you read this note, leave me a review telling me that you did. I want to see how many people read my useless ramblings. And for those of you who don't review because you don't have anything to say; now you do. Just say, "I read your author's note and so I'm posting this review," or something like that. : )


	5. Chapter 5

--

Chapter 5

--

Disclaimer: I don't own Narutof

AN: Chapter 5, which will basically be a set up for later chapters that I have been waiting for. This may be the first of a few filler chapters. I'm not sure how many it will take to get through what I want…

AN x2: Just a little BTW for you. If I use a form of the word see (saw, seen, etc.) with a capital letter (as in See, Saw, etc.), it is referring to using the Miraigan to predict the future.

Response to the Reviewers:

Gravenimage: Yeah... she does look better after the timeskip. I honestly hadn't thought about it though...

Silver Shadowbreeze: Yes, yes I did : )

--

"Kaa-san…?"

The woman slowly made her way into Kai's room, her eyes never leaving the young Shinobi. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion for Kai, but with every second he only felt more certain that this woman was his mother. But how had Yue found her? As far as Kai knew his mother had been waiting with the rest of their village somewhere on the other side of the mountains.

Before he could think any further, she spoke. "My poor son," Ushina said as she came within arms reach of Kai, "My baby… this wasn't supposed to happen…" She reached out with one hand and touched Kai on the cheek where he had been cut, but instead of pain, Kai felt a rush of warmth spread up his face along the half-healed cut.

After a moment, she removed her hand from his now pain free face and stared down at him with tears running down her face. That was when Kai noticed the ugly red scar running across her neck. "Kaa-san… It is you…" Ushina nodded and suddenly gave a strangled cry before flinging her arms around her son's neck in a fierce hug, which he readily returned. There are some things that transcend all barriers. Even though Kai had lost his memory, he still recognized his mother when he saw her.

--

Yue saw that the reunited family members weren't going to break up their tearful hug any time soon, so she decided to make herself scarce. Moving with a silence that only a Shinobi can manage, Yue slipped out the door and down the hall to the stairs.

She emerged from the bottom of the stairs and turned to head into her kitchen, only to come face to face with seven sets of eyes. Five of them belonged to the five rescued girls, but the other two were the dark eyes of the two men that had been escorting Ushina when Yue had come across them in the forest.

These two men were dressed identically in dark green jumpsuits with black vests, belts, fingerless gloves and ninja sandals. Both of the Nin had short brown hair with the bangs restrained by black-banded Hitai-ate without a symbol on the metal plates and looked back at her with brown eyes. They were twins. And they had also been on the squad Yue had once been a part of.

"Hanzo, Akira, how are you two doing?" Yue asked, nodding to the two Shinobi.

"Can't complain Yue," one of them said, Yue never had been able to tell them apart when they didn't want her to, "how about you?"

"I'm alive," Yue said, "and I'm home."

"That's all most Shinobi can expect," the other twin said with a smile and a nod.

There was a short pause as the three Nin searched for something else to say. Then, Yue jumped a little as if she had only just noticed the other five people in the room, "Uh, Hanzo, Akira, have you met …"

The twins smiled and one of them interrupted her, "Oh yeah. We actually made our own introductions while you were reuniting Ushina and Kai."

"Yeah," the other continued with a teasing smile on his face, "we already took care of that part for you Yue. You don't need to struggle through any more introductions today, but you will soon enough."

Yue fixed a glare on the two Shinobi, "And what do you mean by that…?"

--

Kai didn't know how long he had been hugging his mother, but eventually his arms and back began to protest the extra strain he was putting them through and he was forced to release her and drop back down to his bed. He saw Ushina wipe a few tears away from her eyes as she straightened before turning and grabbing a nearby chair and struggling to pull it over to his bedside.

Kai watched her with despair written across his face, remembering what Yue had told him about his mother's condition. He wanted to help her, but he wasn't exactly in any shape to be moving around too much either. Finally, Ushina settled his internal struggle by releasing a small burst of chakra, giving her enough energy to finish moving the chair and collapse into it.

Ushina looked at her son and smiled sadly, "Sorry, I'm not exactly in the best condition."

Kai opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't think of anything to say. In the end, all he choked out was, "How?"

"Well," Ushina sighed, "After Yue left with my instructions to find you, we received word that there was a group of bandits that had appeared at the other end of the valley. At first, the villagers were prepared to make a stand, but then we got word from the first village that the bandits came across, or at least the survivors of that village."

"What happened?" Kai asked, breathless.

"I think your friend Mika would be able to tell you better, since it was her village, but suffice to say that there isn't a village there any more." Ushina shook her head, "After that, the other villagers began panicking. In the end, the decision was made to evacuate the village."

"But your note said that you were over the mountains," Kai interjected as Ushina paused for a breath.

The red-headed woman nodded patiently, "I knew that the evacuation was coming, but I hadn't been able to See the cause behind it. As a matter of fact, when the villagers came to me for a solution, I suggested the evacuation myself. I Saw a village over the mountains that would be able to offer shelter and supplies until we could get aid from the local Daimyo, but when we left the village, things started going wrong. My visions weren't staying the same. I would See one thing in the morning, and then, later that same day, I would See something else entirely. It was very confusing to say the least, but I didn't mention it to anyone."

"Does that mean that there were too many big decisions that would affect the future too much for you to get a fix on what was going to happen?" Kai asked.

His mother nodded with a smile on her face, "Exactly. The Fajoukei Miraigan gives me a clearer picture than the regular Miraigan and lets me control what I see, but it still has the same limitations. It just gives me the most likely possible future, but if there are enough possible fluxuations then there is no chance of getting a clear vision."

"So, how did you end up back here then?" Kai asked.

Ushina smiled, seeing her son wasn't going to be distracted even by learning more about his own bloodline, "It took a few weeks of travel to get over the mountains. Once we got there I had my first completely clear vision since Yue left. I Saw you and Yue here and decided to come back. I got a few volunteers from Yue's old squad, who you'll meet later, and started back this way."

"Then you saw…" Kai started but paused when his mother shook her head.

"No," Ushina said as she once again lifted her hand to Kai's face, resting her cool hand above Kai's right eye, on one end of his new scar, "I only saw you here; I didn't know you would fight the bandits… I didn't know you would get injured."

Kai, seeing his mother on the verge of tears again, quickly spoke up, "I'm fine Kaa-san, it's just a little scratch."

She shook her head slowly, "That's not the point…" She broke down in tears again and Kai gently reached out and drew her close again, holding his mother as she cried herself out, feeling more tears coming to his eyes as well.

--

"And that's why we came back." The twins had just finished explaining their side of the same story Ushina had told Kai, despite Yue's continued insistence that they explain their earlier comment.

"That's nice guys really," Yue said, rolling her eyes, "but what did you mean about having to make more introductions?"

"Come on Yue," on of the two Shinobi said, "Just use your head."

--

Ushina pulled away from her son once again, "Look at me, keeping you up like this. You need to get your rest; you have a busy schedule to follow starting tomorrow."

Kai wiped his eyes on his sleeve, "What do you mean Kaa-san?"

The woman smiled, "As soon as you're back on your feet I'm going to be taking over your training."

"What?" Kai was astonished. He had thought that his mother was too weak to do much of anything.

"I'm not as helpless as I look," Ushina said, mirroring her son's thoughts, "I'll admit, I won't be able to do anything about physical training, but that's where Yue, Akira, and Hanzo come in. What I can do is outline the kind of training I want you to do and I can help you with your chakra and Jutsu, including that one that Kakashi gave you."

Kai gave her a curious look for a moment before his eyes widened in recognition. He had completely forgotten about the Jutsu scroll Kakashi had given him just before he left Konoha. "You can?"

Ushina formed a half-tiger seal in front of her face as her brow creased in concentration. Almost immediately Kai felt his mother's chakra rush over him as she began to emit a strong blue glow. "I am physically unable to do much," she said as the glow faded, "but my chakra system is as strong as ever."

Kai smiled for a moment before his face fell and he chuckled uneasily, "Somehow I have the feeling that this training isn't going to be easy."

Ushina grinned in return, "Of course not son, if it was, it wouldn't be training now would it? But you don't have to worry about that just yet."

Kai gave her a confused look again, "What do you mean?"

"Tomorrow you and the others have to start cleaning this place up. We have to clean out all sign of the bandits in the next few weeks."

Kai's face fell, but his curiosity still raged, "Why do we have to do all this again?"

Ushina smirked, "Well, we have to get the village ready for the rest of the returning villagers."

"Huh!?" Kai shouted as Ushina laughed softly.

--

The next few days were some of the hardest Kai had ever gone through in terms of straight physical labor. The week started off with him helping Yue and the two Shinobi who had showed up with Ushina, Hanzo and Akira, clear out the bodies of the bandits that had been lying in the sun for the last few days. It was not a pleasant exercise to say the least, especially when it came time to move the colossal corpse of Genbu.

Once that was done and the bodies had been burned, downwind of the village of course, they turned to restoring and salvaging the parts of the village that the bandits had ruined. That part of the job took a while. Genbu and his group hadn't been there for too long, but they had still managed to trash a few buildings. They had stripped everything of any value from half the buildings, the half opposite Yue's house, and piled it all in a back room of the Inn Genbu had been living in.

After a few more days, they had restored many the buildings to livable condition. Each of the buildings that they had been able to save had solid walls and roofs and the interior was free of debris. The ones that were too badly damaged were dismantled and the materials were then used to improve the condition of the salvageable buildings even further. It definitely wasn't professional work, but there were carpenters and contractors enough with the villagers to take what the Shinobi had jumbled together and make it into something more stable. The buildings may have lacked anything in the way of furnishings, but that would be taken care of when the original owners returned and could split up the bandit's loot amongst themselves.

That was the state things were in when the villagers finally returned…

--

"Hey!" Kanami shouted as she ran down the street toward the four Shinobi, "Hey! Something's on the road!" Yue and the twins exchanged glances before nodding and leapt to the rooftops, heading in the direction the girl had come from, while Kai walked over to Kanami.

"What did you see?" he asked as the girl tried to catch her breath.

"A big…cloud of… dust," she panted as the two started to walk in the same direction as the older Shinobi, only at a much more sedate pace, "Then… people… some with horses… and wagons… and a few ninja…I think… it's the villagers."

Kai smiled slightly, if it was the villagers then that meant that he could get down to some actual training and avoid having to do too much more of this, but if not… "Hop on," Kai said, his smile fading slightly as he knelt down for Kanami to climb onto his back. If there was trouble, he would probably be told to take care of her, and he could hardly do that if she was left behind.

For her part, Kanami only hesitated for a moment before climbing onto his back and wrapping her arms around his neck. Kai hooked her legs and stood again, "Hang on!" The next thing Kanami knew, she and Kai were airborne. She screamed, causing Kai to wince, but he didn't stop. He reached the rooftop and took two quick steps, taking him to the edge before he leapt again.

After a few jumps, Kai got into his rhythm. He planted his foot at the peak of each roof before pushing off and landing on the peak of the next roof with his other foot. A few more jumps and Kanami calmed down enough that she wasn't choking the young Shinobi and wasn't threatening to burst his eardrums with her screams. Even so, Kai was grateful when he caught sight of one of the twins heading back toward him.

Seeing the man wave him down, Kai stopped and let Kanami down on a rooftop. Once her feet touched the roof, the girl immediately fell to her knees and attached herself to Kai's leg, holding on for dear life. "I don't think I want to do that again…" she whined as the elder Shinobi landed on the rooftop a few feet from them.

"Kai," the man, who Kai now identified as Akira, said, "It's alright. It's just the villagers. Yue sent me to get you to take Kanami back to her house and tell Ushina what's going on." Kai found it funny that Yue had trouble telling the twin Shinobi she had worked with for years apart. Kai, on the other hand, found it very easy to tell them apart, although he couldn't explain it to his extremely confused friend.

"Did Yue send the others back already?" Kai asked. Mika and the girls had been working on what was left of the fields, trying to salvage whatever ripe vegetables they could. Since Genbu had put them in the fields while he and his bandits had had control of the village they had been able to prevent the bandits from stripping everything from the plants, ripe or not. That didn't stop them from trampling some of the plants, but the damage was not as bad as it had looked.

Akira nodded, "They should get back to Yue's place a few minutes after you," he looked at Kanami and smiled, "that is if you can convince Kanami to let you go any time soon."

Kai chuckled dryly and knelt before gently prying Kanami's cold, shaking hands off of him and coaxed her back to her feet. When he stood again, Akira was already several buildings away, heading back to help the villagers reclaim their former homes. Before Kanami could react, Kai swept her up bridal style and leapt away. He managed to clear several buildings before Kanami started screaming again and wrapped her arms around his neck while burying her face in his shoulder.

The entire trip didn't take more than a few moments and Kanami once again sank to the ground as soon as Kai put her back on her own two feet. She didn't stay there this time though. After a few moments, Kanami struggled back to her feet and slapped Kai's face. "You jerk!" she screamed, "You could have warned me!"

Kai just stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded. Suddenly, Kanami started laughing. Kai stood there a moment more before he felt a smile grow on his face and he joined her laughter before the two of them entered Yue's house.

--

"So," Ushina said with a smile, "everyone has finally returned."

"Except for a few of the oldsters who decided that their old bones couldn't make the return journey, yes," Yue confirmed with a nod. It had taken several hours for Yue to organize the returning villagers, but once she had gotten them pointed in the right direction, the Shinobi who had come along with them had taken control. Once that was done, she left Akira and Hanzo to help them and made her way back to her house. Now she was giving Ushina, Kai and the girls an update.

"That's probably for the best," Ushina laughed, "At least if they stay with the daimyo for a while they won't have to deal with the elements, and we won't have to hear them complain."

"You're laughing," Yue said with a strange look on her face, "but I can tell that something is wrong."

Kai glanced at Yue quizzically before looking back to his mother. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but then he had technically only 'known' his mother for a few days now.

Ushina bowed her head, "They're earlier than they should be…"

"Your predictions are falling farther off aren't they?" Yue prompted. The other woman only nodded.

"Huh?" Kai said suddenly, making Yue and Ushina jump until they remembered that they weren't alone in the room.

Ushina sighed, "It's just like I told you before. Ever since I got here and saw you with that scar… I've been having trouble for a while now, but as time passes the differences are even more drastic…"

"Have you tried to See the future recently?" Kai asked, "I mean since you got here?"

Ushina looked up, a surprised look on her face, "Uh… no… I haven't."

Kai sweatdropped, "Well then, why don't you give it a shot now, see what direction we need to go…"

Ushina nodded and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again Kai saw the Miraigan in her eyes with three dots around the three point star that was now so familiar to him. The only difference was that it was not rotating. The star was frozen in place with one point pointing straight up. Then, the spots began to rotate around the center of the star, barely touching the tips of the star points as they passed. As Kai watched, mesmerized by this display, the spots began to blur together as they spun faster and faster until it looked as though there was a solid line of white around the white star in the black of Ushina's bloodline bound eyes.

Then, "Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu!" Ushina called out, forming a chain of seals so quickly that Kai was unable to follow them. As soon as she finished calling out her Jutsu her eyes fell shut and she slumped in her seat, asleep.

Yue sighed, "Alright guys, she won't be waking up until late tonight or early tomorrow, so we may as well see if there is anything we can do to help the villagers. And I'm sure there is." With another sigh, Yue turned and lead the rest of them out, but not before Kai gave one last look back at his mother.

--

AN: Muahahahahaha! Another cliffhanger… sort of… What will Ushina predict? You will have to wait and find out. For anyone who is confused, the _Fajoukei_ Miraigan allows the user to guide the normally random sleeping visions the Miraigan users normally have. So what Ushina did was put herself to sleep so she could instigate her vision. But if you didn't already know this, or at least halfway remember something like it, then you shouldn't be reading this story. You should be reading the Prequel "What the Future Holds" instead.

I just want to make something clear. Kai is not going to be having a relationship with any of the girls he and Yue rescued from the bandits, so don't get any ideas. I know that some of the scenes I have written so far may suggest that, but I promise you that there is nothing behind it other than a close friendship, something like a family bond. The first time any of them saw Kai, he was covered in blood… Not a good first impression, especially for girls who saw their respective villages slaughtered by bandits, who would have come back covered in blood. They see him as a protector or savior since he was the one who killed Genbu and rescued them, nothing more. Besides, Kai still has a thing for Ino. :-P

Also, I'm really, really sorry that my chapters have been so abysmally short. I did a little comparing and so far every one of my chapters in this story is shorter than the shortest one in What the Future Holds. I am ashamed… But hopefully it will get better.

Jutsu List:

Finally!

Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu: Feigning Sleep Technique

For those of you that read these Author's Notes, I have changed the avatar on my profile page. I know the quality isn't very good but the picture is now one of Kai as my brother (Momotaro Kyo) interpreted his description in chapter 1 of this story. I took what he drew, scanned it, edited it, and colored it before posting it here. Yay Kai!

The fillers should be ending soon… I think… Review please


	6. Chapter 6

--

Chapter 6

--

Disclaimer: I don't own Narutof

AN: Chapter 6, Kai's training begins.

Response to Reviewers:

Gravenimage: I have actually planned out some of what Kai's reaction will be when he goes back to Konoha, and his reaction to Ino will be one of the bigger ones. Let's just say that he will have something else to think about besides how much she has changed. And just so you know, I update every two weeks, normally on Wednesday... That is unless I get a new reviewer. If that happens, and I have another chapter ready, I'll post it as soon as I find out.

Silver Shadowbreeze: ...Uh... Yeah. I hadn't even though of that... I already said Kai was shy though. So, since I don't want to have to rewrite the entire story so far... Let's just say that he spent all his time training with Yue and Ushina. He may not have had access to his chakra before Hito, but that didn't mean he wasn't being taught to defend himself. He was too busy to make any friends, and since he was training as a Shinobi, and there weren't many of them in the village, the other kids just avoided him. Yeah... that'll work : )

--

When Kai looked back on his training history since the fafteful day Kakashi had rescued him from Zanbifushi Hito there were several things that stuck out prominently. Kakashi himself had initially taken him under his wing and shown him the basics of chakra control and Jutsu use. After that, Sarutobi, the elderly Third Hokage, had continued his lessons in sealing and in the usage of some of the memories he had gotten from Hito. And then there was his most recent teacher, Yue. She had shown up during the Chunin Exams and taken him away for a month of training before the finals and had shown him an all new meaning to the words strength training.

But even with all of that behind him, he was still totally unprepared for the training schedule his mother had put together for him.

He had known that his training would start once the villagers arrived and were settled in. What he hadn't counted on was how soon it would be…

--

Someone was pounding on Kai's door. It was very loud. And it was disturbing his sleep. Kai groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head and clamping it down in an attempt to block out the noise. As it happens, pillows aren't too good at blocking out the sound of your door getting kicked in.

"Come on Kai," Yue shouted over the slam of his door bouncing off the wall and nearly falling off its hinges, "It's time to get up."

Kai emerged from beneath his pillow and glanced at the clock. It was five A.M. Kai groaned and collapsed onto the bed again, turning away from his entirely too happy sensei. Yue grinned diabolically and stepped back out into the hallway for a moment before returning with a bucket, which she unceremoniously upended over Kai's head, dumping its contents onto the tired Chunin.

Kai came up sputtering as the ice water splashed over him, drenching his pillow and blanket along with him. "Now maybe the next time I tell you to get up, you'll get up," Yue wagged her finger at him with a smile, "Now hurry up and strip those sheets off the bed. Then you can take them outside with the blankets and pillows and hang them up so they can dry. And you may as well take out your mattress too, no sense in taking any chances. Once you do that you can come get something to eat so we can get to your training." With that, Yue turned on her heel and left the room, the bucket bouncing against her leg as she went.

Acting quickly so as to avoid another drenching, Kai stripped his bed clean and changed his clothing before rushing into the bathroom to brush his teeth and take care of his other necessities. Once that was done, Kai followed Yue's orders and wadded up his sheets and blanket into a ball before carrying them outside and flinging them over the clothesline next to her house. He then went back for his mattress and spent the next several minutes trying to figure out how he was going to manage to get it out by himself.

Finally coming up with an idea, Kai put his hands together in a cross-shaped seal, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_ Immediately, two more copies of Kai appeared in a cloud of smoke and looked to the original for orders. A few minutes later, Kai and his clones had managed to get the slightly damp mattress outside and leaned up against the house.

His chores finished, Kai walked back into the kitchen to get himself something to eat, but not expecting more than ration bars and bottled water. Needless to say, he was pleasantly surprised when Yue slid a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him.

"A gift from the villagers for securing the village for them," Yue said when he looked up at her, "turns out the daimyo got to them sooner than they had hoped. They have more food than they know what to do with."

"Well that's a relief," Kai smiled as he prepared to dig into his food, "I was really getting sick of ration bars. I don't know how much longer I could have lasted on them alone."

Yue laughed and turned back to the counter where she made herself a cup of coffee. Once she had finished and Kai had placed his dishes in the sink, Yue sent him to get his katana and other gear before they made their way out of the house. He was surprised to find that they were making their way to the same clearing where he had fought Seiru only a few weeks earlier, but it made sense when he thought about it. He couldn't have been the only one to see that it was the best possible place for any kind of training anywhere within a reasonable distance of the village.

The biggest shock came when he arrived at the clearing to find that it was not unoccupied. There were around ten other Shinobi paired off around the clearing either sparing or throwing shuriken and kunai at the three poles Kai had erected in the center.

Yue led him to an unoccupied corner and turned to face him, dropping into her Taijutsu stance, causing Kai to unconsciously do the same. "Alright Kai," Yue said, "we'll start with an early morning spar to wake us both up and then move on to some more specific work."

Kai nodded and Yue charged, launching a straight punch right for Kai's face. It may have been fairly early for him, but Kai wasn't about to get hit by a simple attack like that. Kai lightly sidestepped the punch and tried to follow up with a knee to Yue's stomach, but she caught his knee with her other hand and pushed him back before pressing her advantage. Their spar continued this way for the next ten minutes. One would attack, the other would block it and then counter, but then their attack would be countered as well. This was only to be expected from two individuals who had been working together as long as they had.

When Yue finally signaled for them to stop Kai was feeling completely awake, which was good because Yue next sent him over to practice with his kunai and shuriken. After he had thrown and retrieved all his projectiles a few times, Yue called him back over to her, leaving the target posts free for someone else, and told him to start doing pushups.

After the pushups, Kai was told to start sit-ups, then squats, and then he had to run around the edge of the clearing. Once he had finished that, Yue looked him over and shook her head, "Weights must be too light." Before Kai could think, Yue had formed a quick set of seals and increased the extra weight he had to carry before setting him to do each of the exercises again, with an extra reminder to not use any chakra to enhance his strength.

This time, when Kai staggered back after his last lap, Yue smiled and sent him to a nearby tree to work on his chakra efficiency and control by climbing it. When he demonstrated that he had that task still efficiently mastered, Yue flung a kunai at him and told him to balance it on his fingertip by its point with only a small spot of chakra to keep it from puncturing his skin.

By the time Ushina came up thirty minutes later, Kai was sweating heavily from the strain and cursing the new scar on his face as it gave the sweat on his forehead a convenient path to run down into his eyes. Ushina smiled and waved him over as she collapsed heavily onto the grass. "Well this is going to take some getting used to," Ushina said as Kai came into hearing distance, "I'm not used to walking long distances any more."

Kai was about to say something, but Ushina held up her hand, "Don't worry about it son, I'll manage. I always do…" The young boy watched as his mother's face grew vacant for a moment before she suddenly seemed to notice he was there. "Sorry," she smiled again, "I got lost in the past there for a while. Anyway, I guess your wondering what I'm going to do for your training."

Kai nodded as he let the kunai fall and caught it, "Yeah, that and what you Saw in your prediction last night."

Ushina grinned at Yue, "That is for us to know and you to learn about as it happens. But I will tell you that my latest vision has helped me lay out your training schedule."

Kai nodded and shifted a little bit in the grass, trying to get more comfortable, "Alright Kaa-san, so what am I going to have to do?"

Yue laughed, "I doubt you'll be so eager once you hear this kid."

Ushina smiled sympathetically, "First and foremost Kai, there is something you need to know. As I'm sure you have already guessed, a lot of your life is intertwined with the man named Zanbifushi Hito." Kai winced, but nodded as his mother continued, "In fact, you will meet this man several more times in your life before your final confrontation with him and after that confrontation, only one of you will be alive."

Kai sighed, "I had kind of guessed that I would have to be the one to kill him…"

"That's good," Ushina said, "because, to put it bluntly, that is exactly what you will have to do. The fact that he tried to take over your body isn't the only thing that will tie you together, but I'm getting too far ahead of myself. Today is basically going to be a trial day of sorts. Yue and I are going to run you through your schedule to see where you're at so we can better teach you in the weeks to come. Every day is going to start off with a five A.M. wake up call followed by a quick breakfast before you come out here to do the same things you did already today."

Kai winced at this news, but nodded anyway. "After I get here, we will work on your archery skills and then turn you over to Akira and Hanzo for Kenjutsu training."

"But Kaa-san," Kai interrupted, "my Kenjutsu is already nearly flawless. There isn't much more I need to work on."

Ushina stared back into her son's eyes patiently, "You got your skill with a katana from Hito's memories, correct?"

"Yeah…" Kai said hesitantly.

"So your fighting style is exactly like Hito's, correct?"

"Yeah…"

"So then wouldn't it be advantageous to learn another style so Hito won't know what to expect from you?"

Kai was about to say something in retort, but fell silent when he realized that Ushina had a point. Nodding, Kai smiled sheepishly, "Point taken."

Ushina then continued as if nothing had happened, "After that we'll break for lunch and then you will spend a few hours with one of us while you work on your Jutsu, starting with the one Kakashi gave you and then moving on to a scroll of Jutsu that I have for you to learn afterward."

By this point, Kai was sweating. This was a very tight schedule, and he could already tell that the first few days would be extremely hard, mostly because of the sore muscles he would have because of the extra physical labor. But Ushina wasn't done, "Yue and I decided that you will probably be pretty exhausted after that, so you will spend the remainder of the day with me, learning about the Wareta Clan as well as any other things I can think of that I think you may need. So, how does that sound?"

Kai was slightly relieved to know that he would have some mental work at the end of the day so he could cool down a little before bed, but he was still slightly overwhelmed by the overall workload. He sighed, he knew he didn't have much choice. If this was what it took to take care of Hito, then Kai would go through with it. Giving his mother one of Naruto's trademark smiles, Kai laughed, "Sounds like fun."

Yue laughed, "You are such a bad liar."

--

And so Kai's days passed. He would wake up early each morning, although he didn't need the bucket of ice water after that first time, and prepare himself for the day before he and Yue headed out to the training grounds for their early morning spar. Once they finished that, Kai ran through his kunai and shuriken exercises before doing his strength training. If Yue thought he was getting through them too easily, she increased the weight.

At the rate Kai was improving, he ended up having his weight increased by a few pounds every week, not nearly as often as it had been increased back when he was training in Konoha. Kai didn't dare complain when this happened. He had learned back in Konoha that complaining about the weight only caused Yue to give him even more weight.

Once Ushina showed up, they would head back to the target poles and Kai would summon his bow, which he had sealed with his arrows, and Ushina would correct his aim and have him try to hit smaller and smaller targets or different patterns from farther and farther away as each day passed.

Akira and Hanzo would then take over, running him through different Kenjutsu Kata, before one of them would spar with him while the other watched his movements. Kai never would have guessed it, mostly because neither of them carried their katana openly, but both twins were expert swordsmen.

After lunch came Kai's favorite part of the day, his Jutsu practice. Kai had jumped into this part of his training the first day by excitedly pulling out the scroll Kakashi had given him before he left Konoha. And then his face had fallen slightly when he read over the instructions. There weren't a lot of seals to go with this technique, in fact there were only three, but the move was based off a much more complicated technique and would require a huge amount of chakra control and efficiency for him to be able to use it more than a few times a day. In fact, the Jutsu took so much chakra, he wouldn't be able to use any _Kage Bunshin _to speed up the learning process. So Kai would work on other Jutsu for the majority of his time before spending the last thirty minutes or so working on Kakashi's Jutsu.

Then, once he was thoroughly exhausted, he would head back to Yue's house and meet up with his mother for his mental exercises. Kai had been mildly surprised on the first day when Ushina had used a Jutsu that was similar to the Yamanaka Clan's _Shintenshin no Jutsu_ which allowed her to enter his mindscape, making it much easier for her to teach Kai what she wanted him to know. More importantly, it allowed her to pass on the secrets of the Wareta Clan without any chance of someone eavesdropping.

The only real break in this strict schedule came at the end of each week when Yue would allow him to completely deactivate his weights so he could grow accustomed to his ease of movement. Yue's thought was that if he left his weights on all the time, even if the strain didn't end up hurting him, he would be disoriented when he did have to take them off in a battle. In order to avoid this, Yue always tried to work 'rest days' into his schedule where he would spend the entire day working without the extra weight.

These days were by no means easy on Kai though. Since he didn't have as much weight, his muscles were able to do more, and so Yue didn't have to hold back nearly as much in their morning spars. In addition, she made him run through his exercises at least twice on these days, no matter how well he did or what the weather was like. And she wasn't the only one. Akira and Hanzo did the same thing during their Kenjutsu training, only in their case, Kai had to fight both of them at the same time without using any Jutsu.

The only part of his days that stayed the same was his afternoon Jutsu work and study time with his mother. Those activities weren't affected as much by his weights, except when it came to learning Kakashi's Jutsu, so they stayed pretty much the same.

Before Kai knew it, the days turned to weeks as his skill grew. He learned to use the first level of the Jutsu Kakashi had given him, but had decided that he wasn't near ready to handle the second level, as well as picking up a few new techniques off of his mother's list of Jutsu. And then, after a month had passed, they finally received some news of what was going on in Konoha.

--

"Kai," Ushina called out as she slowly made her way to the training field, "I've got something you're going to want to see."

Kai was taking a short break after his chakra control exercise, but he eagerly jumped up and trotted out to meet his mother and give her a little extra support as she made her way to their corner of the clearing. Once he finally got her sat down under a tree, he asked what she had brought.

"I got a message from the Hokage," Ushina smiled, "and it's addressed to you."

"Really!" Kai shouted, practically dancing in place, "What did Sarutobi-sensei say?"

Ushina laughed before saying, "I said it was addressed to you, which means you get to open it yourself."

Kai gave Ushina a Naruto-smile before taking the scroll she held out to him. Kai broke the seal and quickly unrolled the scroll. After a quick glance up at his mother, Kai began reading.

Kai,

I hope you have found your way to wherever it is that Yue was taking you and I hope you found what you were looking for when you got there. Things have settled down a little here in Konoha since your escape, but I think it goes without saying that Danzo is not happy. I have been able to keep him off my trail, and none of the other Genin are suspected of having anything to do with your escape. It seems that Danzo doesn't believe that they would have the power to do anything, which just makes him all the more foolish.

The biggest problem there was to get over was getting those two mercenaries out of the village without Danzo trying to execute them. When he found out they let you go he was furious, but with a little smooth talking, and a lot of effort in keeping that Izumi girl from killing him, I managed to get them free passage out of the village. I don't know how you convinced them to free you Kai, but they seemed quite firmly on your side when I last saw them.

On a more serious note, I do have some bad news. I have held the council off for as long as I could, but Danzo finally managed to push through your declaration as a Missing Nin. When next month's issue of the bingo book comes out, you will be listed as a C-class, capture on sight Nin. You don't have to worry about any Hunter Nin trying to kill you since they wouldn't be able to get any money that way, but you may want to keep a low profile since the reward offered for you is more than enough to tempt the majority of the bounty hunters in Fire Country and beyond.

I hate you say this, but you may want to get away from Yue as well. As long as the two of you are together, you will be a much more tempting target. She has been ranked as a B-rank, wanted dead or alive Nin. And there is no difference in reward if the hunter just brings in her head.

Anyway Kai, I'm not sure whether you know it or not, but you were promoted to Chunin in the aftermath of the last exam, so, whether Danzo likes it or not, that is your rank. As a sign of that, I have included a Chunin vest in a storage seal with this message.

Congratulations,

Sarutobi

Kai started to search for the seal when he noticed a small message scrawled at the end in very untidy handwriting.

Oni-san,

Sorry, the old man says I can't write too much. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Get in touch if you get the chance.

Naruto

P.S. Ino misses you too.

Next to that was a drawing of a chibi version of Naruto with a huge smile. Kai laughed before unrolling the scroll further over to reveal a simple storage seal. After setting the paper down, Kai formed a few quick hand seals and slammed his hand down on the paper, revealing a dark green Chunin vest in a huge cloud of smoke.

Kai coughed as he picked up the vest and message again before handing the scroll to Yue since it had some information on it she would be interested in too. After shrugging out of his old black vest, Kai removed the paper seal from the inside that was used to increase the vest's weight and transferred it to his new Chunin vest before putting it on. "How do I look?" Kai asked, holding his arms out to the side and facing his mother.

Ushina smiled again, "You look good honey."

Kai grinned and scratched the back of his head but before he could say anything in response, Yue interrupted him, "Alright, fun time is over kid. You have to get on to your archery training." Kai sighed but summoned his bow from the seal on his wristband and waited for an open target pole before taking his place and beginning to practice.

As he nocked an arrow to his bow and drew the weapon back he caught sight of Yue handing his mother the open scroll. She read over it while he launched his first few arrows, one eye on the target, the other on his mother and Sensei. After a few more arrows struck the target pole Kai was using, each of them lining up from the top of the pole to the bottom, Kai saw Ushina hand the letter back to Yue before nodding. The two women spoke for a few minutes, during which time Kai fired the rest of his arrows, before Ushina pulled out a scroll and pen and wrote a quick note. Then, as Kai began pulling his arrows out of the target, Ushina rolled the scroll up and formed a bird seal. In a flash of light, a white falcon appeared on Ushina's shoulder.

It was a beautiful bird. Every feather appeared to have been bleached, but it wasn't pure white. Each feather was a different shade of white, almost as if the bird's natural coloring had been duplicated with white as the base color. The only part of it that wasn't some shade of white were its black talons and eyes.

As these thoughts passed through Kai's head, the magnificent bird turned its head and looked right at Kai. Even though they were a good thirty yards away from each other, Kai felt as if the bird was staring right into his eyes, weighing him, judging him against some unknown standard.

As suddenly as it had started, it ended when the bird turned back to Ushina, who turned to face the bird for a moment before turning toward Kai who quickly realized that he was supposed to be practicing and hurried to finish pulling his arrows free and re-sealing them before 

walking back to his firing position. When he turned again, the white falcon was in the air with a scroll tightly clasped between its claws, quickly winging its way out of sight.

--

That evening when Kai sat down with Ushina for his mental exercises he was surprised when the woman brought a small scroll with her. Usually, their lessons consisted of her entering his mindscape and teaching him about the Wareta Clan's history or working on his chakra control. For some reason, today was different.

"Here Kai," Ushina said when they settled onto the floor, her with some difficulty but she always refused help, "Take this scroll and open it."

Slightly confused by the change in their regular schedule, Kai took the scroll and rolled it out on the floor in front of him to reveal a strange seal. He could tell it was a storage seal, but instead of a single circle surrounded by Kanji, the entire length of the two-foot scroll was covered by a series of circles and Kanji. It was the most complex seal he had ever seen. Before he had a chance to examine it further, Ushina spoke up, "Before you open that seal you need to know something. My predictions are still off..."

"But I thought you checked again," Kai blurted suddenly, interrupting his mother, "I thought everything was alright!"

Ushina shook her head sadly, "I thought so too, but the letter from the Hokage changed everything. According to my last vision, you shouldn't have gotten that message for another few months…"

"But… How?" Kai stammered.

"There is just too much that is changing," Ushina said, leaning forward to put a comforting hand on Kai's shoulder, "I know this must be hard for you to deal with, but we're just going to have to deal with things like normal people. We will just take them as they come." Kai nodded. He knew she was right, but he had gotten used to the idea of knowing that what he was doing was the right thing to do. He liked the security in knowing he was on the right path.

"Now," Ushina continued once she saw that Kai had come to terms with everything, "I wasn't originally going to give you this for another few months, but like I said, things are moving faster than I had anticipated. Do you remember what I told you about the main type of Shinobi that made up our clan?"

Kai thought for a second before nodding, "You said that the majority of the Wareta Shinobi were assassins."

"Exactly," Ushina nodded, "and if you haven't already guessed, since your first gift was a Wareta _sogekihei_ bow, you are being trained to be the first active Wareta Assassin in decades."

Kai's jaw dropped. Is this what he was supposed to do? Could he really be an assassin? "I know you don't think you can do this Kai," Ushina smiled sadly, "and that is exactly what makes you ideal for the job."

"Huh?" Kai said stupidly.

Ushina giggled, "If you had jumped at the idea, or if you had been too eager, I would know that you were not suited to the job of a Wareta Assassin. You see, there are two kinds of assassins. There are those who take any and every job and slaughter anyone in the way of completing their mission, innocent or not, young or old. These kinds of people kill for the sake of killing and the thrill they get out of it. You however, are reluctant to see yourself in the place of a cold blooded killer and so you won't be. The Wareta Assassins only take missions to kill individuals who deserve it. In fact, if there had been any active Wareta during the time of Gato's reign in Wave Country, I am sure one would have been dispatched to deal with him before you and your team got involved."

Kai struggled to put all this together, "So… I would be a kind of honorable Assassin… Somehow that doesn't sound right…"

Ushina smiled sadly, "And you won't be the only one who thinks so. There will be many people who will hate you just because of what you are, much like they hate your friend Naruto. But you have to ignore them. And besides, once I get done with your training, no one will be able to tell you're an assassin unless you want them to know, and no one will know you're there until your blade is at their throat."

Kai nodded hesitantly, "I guess I can see your point… And I do like the thought of being able to get rid of people like Gato before they get too powerful."

"Good," Ushina said, "then the ancestor's predictions will come true. Within this seal is the next part of your gift from me and the second item that was held in trust for you by our Wareta Clan ancestors. This is the item that will change your future into your destiny."

Kai looked at his mother questioningly before looking back down at the seal and examining it. The scroll itself was very old, but in good condition. The paper had to be several centuries old, but the only sign of that was a slight yellowish color around the edges. The seal was a relic on its own. Now that he looked at it, he could see that this particular type of seal was of a kind that hadn't been seen since storage seals were first invented. Even still, because of his training with Sarutobi, Kai could tell that it was a blood seal.

Shrugging, Kai brought his right hand to his mouth and bit it, drawing a little blood, before smearing it across the seal. Before he could form any hand signs to open the seal, it began to glow. Kai gasped, but Ushina just smiled at her son's confusion. This seal was not like a normal storage seal.

After a few seconds, the seal pulsed once before emitting a huge plume of smoke from its center. Kai waited eagerly for the smoke to clear and when it did, he raised his eyebrow and looked back up at his mother quizzically.

Lying before him on the scroll was what was possibly the most beat up sword he had ever seen. It was probably magnificent when it was first forged, but time and wear had left it in a miserable state. Its plain leather sheath was worn in several places with some of the stitching coming loose at the top and the handle was wrapped loosely in faded black leather. All the metal Kai could see was dull, tarnished steel that would need a lot of work to bring it back to anything resembling workable condition.

Ushina smiled at the look on her son's face and gestured for him to take the sword. Rolling his eyes, Kai reached out with his still lightly bleeding right hand and grasped the blade. Immediately, he felt warmth running along his arm and through the rest of his body as the small cut on his hand healed. Caught up in the feeling, Kai grasped the sheath in his left hand and swiftly drew the blade free.

He quickly dropped the blade and sheath as both let off a bright flash of light as soon as the blade came completely free. Blinking away the sun spots in his eyes, Kai looked toward the sword once more, not noticing his mother's stiffeled laughter just a few feet away. When Kai found the blade, he gasped once again. What had once been a tattered sword was now a magnificent weapon.

The blade shone brightly in the light of the setting sun as it came through the windows and held Kai's gaze for a moment. This blade couldn't have been the same one that he had unsealed, could it? The handle of the weapon was still wrapped in black leather, but it appeared to be in much better condition than it had a few moments ago and the steel of the pommel and guard now seemed to be made of the same type of silver material as the caps on his bow.

After a few seconds of looking around, Kai found the sheath, but it was now in the same perfect condition as the blade. What he had originally seen as faded leather was now a flawless black with more of the same silver metal running down the front and back to reinforce the sheath so it could be used as a weapon in emergencies.

Kai only now looked back to his mother and noticed her fighting down laughter. She nodded toward the blade once more and Kai hesitantly took it from the floor. "Now, focus chakra into it," Ushina directed once she regained control of herself. Kai did so and watched as the blade began glowing blue in a similar manner to his ANBU katana, but somehow much brighter.

Ushina, however, shook her head, "Not like that Kai. Not for an attack. This blade was specially made to conduct chakra, try to think of it as an extension of your body and let your chakra flow through it and back into you."

Kai nodded and concentrated, trying to feel the flow of his chakra as Ushina had suggested. Before long, Kai was once again shocked for the third time as the pommel of the sword suddenly gave off a flash of light, revealing a clear crystal set into the silver metal there. Then the crystal began glowing a bright yellow.

At this point, Kai was more than sick of randomly glowing objects, but for some reason he couldn't take his gaze away from the crystal. It just looked so familiar…

Then, the glow shifted to the entire blade, seemingly wiping out any and all trace of the weapon until he was holding a sword-shaped mass of yellow light. Then it began to change. As Kai watched, unable to move, the weapon shifted in his hand, taking on another shape altogether. When the glow finally died, Kai found himself holding the center handle of a double bladed sword. The still black handle was one foot long with opposite-facing silver-white blades emerging from each end and stretching out for about two-and-a-half feet. As Kai admired the weapon, he thought he saw a spark of energy, dancing along the cutting edge of one of the blades.

Before he could investigate it further, he heard a voice in his head, -_You… You have held the brother blade... I am Reimeiken, and you have been deemed worthy. You will help to purify the brother blade and bring balance to the two-._

--

AN: It is true! I am a lover of cliffhangers!

I've decided I'm going to keep most of the details of Kai's training a secret, one that I will reveal in small parts as the story continues. Mostly this is because I'm just lazy, but the desire to be mysterious, and frustrating, is there too. So just let it be known that Kai learned more than I wrote about in this chapter.

About Ushina, she is crippled, in that she is completely incapable of fighting or even moving very fast, but that doesn't mean she can't move. The best thing I can compare her condition to is that of an elderly woman. She can walk on her own, just not very fast.

Jutsu List:

A classic for you…

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu:_ Shadow Clone Technique

_Shintenshin no Jutsu:_ Mind Body Switch Technique

_Reimeiken_: Dawnblade

_Sogekihei_ means sniper, I'm only going to use it once. Just decided to spice the chapter up a little. : )

I have a question for my readers. I was looking through this chapter before I posted it and I noticed several extra blank lines and paragraphs that had been split in the middle of a sentence. I also noticed that parts of some sentences were bold where they shouldn't have been. Is this common in my stories or is it an isolated incident? I you would please let me know in a review I would appreciate it. : )


	7. Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

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Disclaimer: I don't own Narutof

AN: What is _Reimeiken_? Who are "the two?" What is Kakashi's "mysfterious" Jutsu (as if you don't already know) All this should be answered in this chapter. : )

Response to Reviewers:

Gravenimage: Wow that was fast. You posted your review, literally, five minutes after I posted the chapter. That is awesome! Thanks for the review, unfortunately their meeting won't come for several more chapters yet. I don't know exactly how long it will be, but it won't be any time soon.

A quick BTW:

I was looking at the reviews left for "What the Future Holds" when I realized that Silver Shadowbreeze had asked a question in a review for the last chapter and I never answered him. So here goes: Shadow, yes, Kyo and Izumi will be showing up in this story, just not for a while, and no, Izumi is not a Jinchuriki. When they show up again I plan on giving a more detailed back story for them, but until then, everyone gets to wonder : )

--

_-You… You have held the brother blade... I am Reimeiken, and you have been deemed worthy. You will help to purify the brother blade and bring balance to the two.-_

"Huh?" Kai said stupidly, which only served to send Ushina into a helpless fit of laughter.

"Poor Kai," she said once she had calmed down enough to speak, "you should see the look on your face."

Kai decided to ignore her joke, "Did… Did the sword just talk?"

Ushina nodded, her eyes still smiling, "Yes, but in your mind only. I didn't hear anything at all. It is about as close to sentient as something can be without being alive. And since it changed when you put your chakra into it, it seems that it has found you acceptable."

Kai was once again reduced to the bowels of stupidity, "Huh?"

Ushina laughed again before explaining to her bewildered son, "Reimeiken, along with its brother blade, have always chosen its bearer. Only one who the blade will change for can wield its true power. Since the sword changed into that magnificent double bladed weapon you now hold, I think we can safely assume that you have been deemed worthy."

"But how am I supposed to fight with a double-bladed sword? I don't have any kind of training for something like this, and I can't think of anyone who does." Kai complained, still slightly off guard because of the talking sword.

"Don't worry about that Kai," Ushina said happily, "your first weapon always comes naturally to you. It's almost like the sword teaches you to use it when it first changes."

Kai began rambling, "What do you mean my first weapon? And where did this sword even come from anyway? And what did it mean by 'You have held the brother blade?'"

Ushina sighed, "I guess I got a little too excited and jumped ahead of myself. Let me explain everything to you." Kai nodded and shifted a little, placing the double-bladed sword on the carpet in front of him before laying the sheath next to it. "As you know, back in the Wareta Clan's prime, a prediction was made that one day a member of the clan would have to face a great evil. The elders had a bow forged for the chosen one but many people decided that that would not be enough. So, the greatest blacksmiths of the generation came together and forged two katana, one with a white blade, and one with a black blade. Then, once they had been created, the most powerful Shinobi in the clan set several Jutsu into the blade, giving them unique abilities the likes of which had never been seen before.

"A few years after their forging, someone decided that the blades should be used instead of kept in trust for the future Shinobi, so he took them from their place in the Wareta Clan elder's tower. The man who took them was a new Genin with skills that, while remarkable for his age, were offset by his arrogance. He believed that he was the only one worthy of wielding the twin blades and so, when the elders demanded he return them, he ran away.

"The FarSeers of the Wareta Clan knew that the swords would one day be refturned, and so nothing was done after a few minor attempts to capture him. What they didn't know was that swords wouldn't be heard from again for many generations. In fact, your Ojisan and I were the first two to receive any news of them since they disappeared."

"My Ojisan?" Kai said, astounded, "Where is he now?"

Ushina's face fell, "Unfortunately, he and I had a bit of a falling out, but that is all a part of the story. Just be patient. Anyway, when we heard a rumor about a pair of blades that matched the description of the lost katana, we were not on the best of terms. He and I were the last remaining members of the clan that were still pureblooded enough to pass on the Miraigan and he wanted me to a particular man so our bloodline's survival would be ensured. Over the generations, as the clan shrunk, more and more members were forced to marry outside the clan, diluting our bloodline, until the Miraigan didn't show up in more than a few children each generation.

"Tou-san wanted me to marry a man who was fifteen years my senior, which, of course, I refused. His argument was that this man was one of the few members of the clan with enough of the old blood to ensure the Miraigan would pass on to our children. I didn't care. You see Kai, I had met a young man my own age in a nearby village and had fallen in love. Tou-san didn't approve. So when word came from the village that the swords may have been found and I was sent by Tou-san to retrieve them, I decided that once I had completed this last errand for him, I was going to leave the clan compound for good and run away.

"I know it was fairly childish, but I was seventeen, I didn't want to think of anything that would get between me and love. It took a few weeks, but I eventually found the swords, but I also attracted the attention of a very evil man."

"Hito…" Kai whispered.

Ushina nodded, "He was after the swords too. I didn't realize I was being followed until I returned to the compound. I walked in on a slaughter. I managed to get to Tou-san's house just in time to see him skewered on Hito's katana. With his last breath, he told me to run. And I did. I made it back to the village before Hito caught up with me again. I met up with my boyfriend, your Tou-san, and we escaped him, but the village paid the price. Hito slaughtered every one of them trying to get the swords.

Ushina began to tear up for a moment, but swallowed and continued, "We were on the run for several months before Hito found us again. During the time we were running, your Tou-san and I got married. But when we ran into Hito again, he stayed behind to hold him off. He tried using the black blade, and it seemed to work at first, but it was clear that he couldn't access its full power. He knew he couldn't win the fight, but he sent me on anyway. By this time, I was two months pregnant with you."

"So Hito has killed every other member of my family," Kai said quietly, staring down at the blade in front of him.

"Yes," Ushina nodded sadly, "Two months after I left your Tou-san behind, I stumbled across Yue. She was making her patrol one day when I literally fell out of a tree onto her. I had been running for two days straight, trying to lose Hito, and I just ran out of energy. Once everything was explained, Yue and I became fast friends and she brought me here. Somehow, Hito lost track of me, and five months after I arrived, you were born. The rest, as they say, is history."

Kai's eyes suddenly shot open, "The black blade… Hito's sword is black… So that means…"

Ushina nodded again, "Hito's sword, Higureken, is the 'brother' to your sword, Reimeiken. The two were made to work together, but since it wasn't fully active when he got it, Hito cannot tap into the full power of Higureken. This is another reason that you are the only one who can defeat him. You are the chosen of Reimeiken, and even without its full potential unlocked, Higureken can only be defeated by Reimeiken."

Kai nodded hesitantly, "I guess that makes sense… But what about what you said about my 'first weapon,' you haven't explained that yet."

Ushina smiled at her son's eagerness to learn about his new weapon, "That is the power of the twin blades. Each of them can change into a different weapon depending on the type of elemental chakra you run through them. They are powerful on their own, but when used together, their power grows exponentially. Hito cannot use this power because the blade did not choose him, so all he has is a unique sword that doesn't break and can store chakra in the crystal in its pommel."

Kai nodded, remembering his experience with the sword and the burning chakra that had emerged from the crystal, "So what form is this then? What element is it?"

Ushina looked carefully at the weapon lying between them, "Judging by the lightning running along the edge of the blades I would guess that this one is the Raiton form. It seems your normal chakra is of the lightning element, which would explain how you learned Kakashi's Jutsu so quickly."

"And how am I supposed to use the other elemental forms if my chakra is only lightning type," Kai asked, slightly confused by the whole thing.

"That my son," Ushina smiled with a mischievous glint in her eye, "is all a part of your training."

--

If Kai had thought the last month of training was difficult, it was nothing compared to what he was now put through. He still had to get up at an ungodly hour of the morning to spar with Yue. He still ran through his exercises just like before. The first difference came after his exercises when Yue would start trying to teach him how to yield the different elemental chakra types.

Once Ushina showed up, Kai would go back to his archery practice until it was time for Kenjutsu practice with Hanzo and Akira. This was where the second change came in. Instead of the normal one-on-one fights, the two Shinobi would attack him at once while he fought with Reimeiken, usually in its Raiton form. And, surprisingly enough, he did have a mastery over the weapon that was on an instinctual level. It was still far from easy to fight the twins, who had teamwork that would rival an expert in Kage Bunshin, but there was a definite difference in the short spars, since they tended to end in a draw more often than not.

Other than those two changes, his days were the same as they had been before he had received Reimeiken. But that would change a week later…

--

It came as no surprise to Kai to find out that Yue's chakra was of the earth element. He had known that almost as soon as he had seen her favorite Jutsu, _Doton: Ishi Rendan_. What was confusing was that, because of his new sword, Kai would, in theory, be able to use this element as well. He still had trouble with the idea that by focusing his chakra into the crystal in the pommel of the sword and giving it the proper mental twist, he could use earth element chakra, and gain access to another of Reimeiken's forms.

And because of his doubt, Kai couldn't seem to grasp how was supposed to do it. He heard the lecture time and time again, but actually comprehending and doing it was something very different.

"No Kai," Yue said into the darkness of his mindscape, "that's still wrong." Ushina had taught Yue the Jutsu she used to teach Kai using the excuse that it was easier to grasp chakra exercises in one's mindscape than it was to jump right into it in the real world. Basically, it was easier to manipulate chakra in the mindscape, so he would have a more solid base to build on in the physical world. Kai was slightly upset that he could no longer seek solace from his sensei in his thoughts.

The way Yue had explained it, there were five elements: Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, and Lightning. They could be placed in a wheel, with each element having an advantage against one, being weak to another, and having a neutral of effect on the other two. Water beats Fire, which somehow beats Wind, which inexplicably beats Earth, which beats Lightning, which beats Water. Kai didn't exactly understand all the reasoning behind this wheel, but he had no reason to disagree with her.

The only problem he had with the wheel was that, since his chakra was of the lightning element, earth was technically his weakness, and therefore, harder to learn to access than any other type. And that was exactly why Yue insisted that he learn to use it first.

It wasn't like Yue was any kind of expert on teaching Shinobi to use different types of elemental chakra though. In fact, she knew nothing about it at all. The problem was that there wasn't anyone who really did, except maybe Reimeiken itself. But the sword was silent, no matter how much mental begging Kai went through.

They had managed to make some headway though. Kai knew what he had to do in order to get his chakra to mimic the earth element when he channeled it through Reimeiken. When they compared his chakra to Yue's, Kai could tell they _felt_ different. The only problem he was having was finding how to make his chakra _feel_ like Yue's.

"Try it again," Yue sighed. She was getting worn out. It took a constant flow of chakra to keep herself in Kai's mindscape, and they had been at it for an hour now. After that long, the chakra flow required was beginning to drain Yue's resources.

Kai knew this as well. He knew that soon Ushina would show up at the clearing and Kai would have to run through his archery exercises. With escape in sight, the young Chunin decided to give it one last try. He settled down in his mindscape, sitting cross-legged in front of his sensei as he began focusing. He felt his chakra flowing through his body and grasped it before guiding it into the blade on his physical body and through the crystal on the pommel before giving it a mental _twist_.

He instantly felt a difference in his chakra, but he couldn't tell what exactly. Yue did though. Suddenly, Kai felt a jerk as Yue lost her focus and was ejected from his mindscape. When he opened his eyes, Yue was staring at him in wonder. Kai blinked in confusion until he realized that he was sitting at eye level with Yue, and she was standing up.

Kai looked down to where Reimeiken was sitting across his lap and watched as the crystal faded from a bright blue to its regular clear coloration. As soon as the coloration faded, Kai fell from the air. The sword had been levitating him in the air when he first unlocked this new elemental chakra, but as soon as he stopped channeling it, he fell.

Needless to say, it wasn't a soft fall. Kai hit the ground hard and immediately rolled onto his side, rubbing his sore rump with his free hand. "Owwwwwww," Kai whined just as his mother came up behind him.

"Kai," She said as she kneeled next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder as she looked at him urgently, "what just happened? What did you do?"

Kai hissed slightly as he rolled back into a sitting position, "I don't know… I just tried to make my chakra feel like Yue's earth chakra and…"

"I hate to break it to you kid," Yue interrupted with a smile, "but you went the opposite way on the element wheel. You just channeled what felt to me like water chakra."

Ushina nodded grimly, "That's what it looked like to me too."

"Well that's a good thing isn't it?" Kai asked, slightly put off by his mother's apparent unease, "I took the first step to mastering Reimeiken, right?"

Ushina nodded warily, "Yes Kai, you did, and I'm very proud of you for it, but you were supposed to learn Earth before Water… Everything is still turning out wrong…"

Yue spun on her heel to stare at the other woman, a look of exasperation on her face, "Look Ushina. I'm your friend, and I love you like my own sister, but you need to get off your high horse. Your predictions are wrong. That's all there is to it. You can't keep getting upset every time something doesn't go the way you Saw it happening. If this keeps up, you're going to drive us all mad. Just a few days ago you said that we would just have to live like normal people and take what life threw our way as it comes without any forewarning. Now you seem to need someone to give you the same talk."

Ushina's head lowered as she quickly found something interesting to stare at by her feet, "I know… I guess it's just that I have been so used to depending on my visions for my entire life that it's hard to let go of them…"

"I know you'll get used to it," Yue said with a smile, "just try to keep your frustrations on the private side of things, or else warn us first." Yue finished with a smile, which Kai mimicked while his mother blushed slightly. He hated to say it, but he agreed with Yue. For the last week, his mother had been making comments about how 'things shouldn't be like _that'_ or 'it was supposed to happen _this_ way.' It got very frustrating and it was driving Kai insane. A few times, Kai had been sure that she was upset with his progress until she had corrected him like she had just done. It wasn't that he wasn't doing well; it was just that he wasn't doing it in exactly the way she had Seen.

"Anyway Kai," Yue said, jerking him out of his thoughts and making his mother jump along with him, "Give that water chakra a try again. You'll have to learn to call on it at will now before we can move back to earth again. But this time, you should be able to pull off the earth chakra easily since it's just in the other direction from water." Kai groaned and closed his eyes to hide the fact that he was rolling them. No matter what happened, Yue was always way too enthusiastic about training.

--

It took him the rest of the day to get his water chakra under conscious control. The reason he had the entire day was because his other teachers all agreed that he needed to learn to use his new ability as soon as he could. Kai was not happy with this.

He had been looking forward to his spars with Akira and Hanzo and his Jutsu practice as a light at the end of the tunnel of boredom and monotony that his early mornings had become. But, in the end, he was forced to spend two more hours practicing in his mindscape, trying to re-create the effect he had unwittingly attained earlier. When he finally did get the feel of his chakra right again, he didn't get the spontaneous levitation effect, which disappointed the small crowd of onlookers that had gathered to see the spectacle. Instead, the crystal on Reimeiken's pommel merely began glowing a bright blue for a moment before it flickered and went out.

Then, Kai was forced to spend the next six hours sitting in the clearing, trying to replicate the effect in the physical world, hoping that the sword would shift to another form when he did. That wondrous event didn't occur until just before dinner time. Once again, Kai was letting his frustrations get the best of him and angrily flung himself into the exercise, gripping the sword tightly in his right hand.

While his teachers watched, all of them more than ready to get something to eat, Kai lifted the sword above his head, almost as if he wasn't in control of his actions, and the blue glow that they had been seeing all afternoon in the crystal shifted to cover the entire weapon. When the glow died away, Kai was holding the ring of a deep blue windmill shuriken with the four blades aligned on the section opposite his hand.

Yue suddenly laughed, "Looks like you're stuck with me kid. I'm the only one in the village who can teach you to use that thing." Kai groaned softly before relaxing his focus, allowing the weapon to shift back to its katana form, and sheathing the blade. He then unsteadily rose to his feet and took one step toward his teachers before falling flat on his face, completely out of chakra.

--

The next two weeks were basically the same as before, except instead of meditation to master earth chakra, Kai was training with Yue to learn to use his new Windmill Shuriken.

The spinning blade was remarkable easy to handle, as long as you didn't get too nervous about having a three foot wide saw blade rotating around your hand. The only trick was, once again, Kai's biggest weak point, a steady chakra flow to keep the weapon in its form. And not just any chakra, it had to be his newly discovered water chakra, otherwise the shuriken would shift to its Raiton form in mid spin, completely throwing the Chunin off balance. So far, he had managed not to injure himself, but he honestly expected to take his own head off before his training was over.

In addition to keeping the weapon's form stable with his changed chakra, Kai also had to use a smaller flow of his regular chakra to keep the weapon spinning around his hand so he could actually use it when it was open. While it was closed up, with all four blades side by side, he could use the weapon like it was a strangely shaped set of metal claws, but once he opened it; it was a whole different ballgame.

So, on top of having to manipulate two completely different chakra flows, Kai also had to learn to use chakra strings so he could control the spinning disk once he threw it. And then he had to learn to catch the blade by thrusting his hand out and grabbing the center at just the right time.

Needless to say, this was a lot to learn, and Kai had to go through many more days where he was 'allowed' to skip his other lessons to work with Yue and his windmill shuriken all day long…

--

"Alright Kai, let's see what you've got," Yue called out from across the training field. Kai nodded solemnly as he observed the newest obstacle course Yue and the others had laid out for him. When the Shinobi of the village had returned, they had immediately flocked to Kai's clearing for their own training work, and the need for additional target poles quickly became apparent. Because of this, Kai and Yue had had to spend an entire day finding appropriate trees and branches, cutting them down, and then scattering them around the field in such a way that they would be usable without being in everyone's way.

Today, there were multiple targets placed on and around those poles, which now numbered twenty instead of the original three. Kai's 'job' in this exercise was to use his Reimeiken shuriken to remove the targets. Normally, that could be done easily, but he had to do it in one throw…and in a particular order, with some of the targets having several others between them and the next one on the list.

As Kai mapped out his course with his eyes, he slowly drew Reimeiken from its sheath on his back, lifted it over his head and began focusing his chakra to shift it to its shuriken form before lowering his arm again. It had been with a bit of shock when Kai learned the biggest problem he had been having with forming the weapon. He simply wasn't using enough chakra. It took a steady flow to change the blade, and Kai just wasn't providing enough in the flow. He was just lucky that when he got frustrated he tended to throw more of his chakra into a technique than he would normally, and while that could cause him trouble later on, it was certainly an asset now.

Once he was satisfied he knew the route he had to send the shuriken on, Kai lifted his right arm again, holding the Reimeiken shuriken out to his side, and began to pump a slow trickle of chakra through it. Immediately, the giant shuriken began spinning rapidly around Kai's cupped palm.

Taking a deep breath, Kai looked at the first target in the course and focused all his attention on it. It wasn't complex, just a small log with a number painted on it, but in this moment, it represented an obstacle. Yue had told Kai that once he was able to complete this exercise, he would know all that she knew about using oversized shuriken.

He took another breath and whipped his arm forward, launching the Reimeiken shuriken and attaching a single chakra string in the same motion. After that, I was all reflex and training. Kai kept his right hand extended in front of him, using gentle movements of his fingers to control the spinning blade's path.

Then, just as he passed the halfway point, a chakra-enhanced shuriken flew from the tree line and severed the chakra string he was using to control his weapon. Kai narrowed his eyes in concentration, immediately throwing out another chakra string to regain his control. Yue must have asked Akira and Hanzo to make things more difficult for him. Well, he should have expected something more complicated for his final test.

Twice more, enhanced shuriken sliced through his control line, and twice more Kai reconnected it before the blade got too far off course. Then, as he was approaching the final target, a log sitting on top of one of his original training posts, another blade flew through the air, slicing his chakra string. Once again, Kai reconnected it, only for that one to be immediately cut as well.

By this point, the blade was wobbling, without the guidance provided through the chakra strings to keep it going, it was quickly falling of course. Kai threw out a third line, and then a fourth, but the two Shinobi just cut through them as fast as Kai sent them out.

Then, as the fifth string was cut, the windmill shuriken gave out and dropped drastically, sticking into the top of the pole just below the target. Kai looked toward the weapon dejectedly, if he had been able to keep it a little bit higher, it might hit the target instead of the pole. As it was, the blade had penetrated halfway through the log, which stood quivering in place.

"Alright Kai," Yue said from her position across from him, "you gave it a good try, lets just get back to training and you can try again tomorrow."

Kai sighed and was about to retrieve his weapon when he felt a mental pull. It felt similar to when the blade had first spoken to him when he had drawn it. Following his instinct, Kai reached for the feeling with his mind and pulled.

--

Yue was making her way over to Kai when he suddenly froze, staring straight at his final target. She followed his line of sight in time to see the Reimeiken Shuriken begin to glow a light blue before it jerked itself free, as if it was being pulled by an invisible hand, and began spinning again.

She spared a glance at Kai and saw that he was smiling. Somehow, the young Chunin had found a way to control the shuriken without chakra strings…

--

Kai was in his mindscape. And that was all he knew. Suddenly, a voice echoed from all around him, "Wielder of the blade Reimeiken, hear these words as they were spoken by your distant ancestors. Within this blade there exists the potential for five separate weapons, each one aligning with one of the five major elements in the world. To unlock each of them, you must learn to focus your chakra in a way that will cause it to simulate the desired element. When you have done so successfully, Reimeiken will glow and the weapon will form."

Kai sighed, he knew this already. If this was all that his ancestofrs had imprinted into the blade, then he had better things to do. But the disembodied voice wasn't done, "Once you have unlocked each new weapon, you mfust seek out a sensei who can teach you the basics of the weapon. The blade is sentient to an extent, so it will know when you have learned all that you must to be able to wield it with a minimum amount of skill in each of its forms. Once that happens, it will call to you, much like it must have done for you to be hearing this message. You must respond to the call and listen well, for the blade will teach you the secrets to unlocking the first of each form's hidden powers. You are soul-bonded with the weapon, allow it to teach you and you will gain the power and skill you will need.

"You are doing well, but the path ahead is not easy. No matter what you may meet in the future, you must continue along this path. Now go, and make us as proud as you will one day make your parents."

Suddenly Kai was outside his mindscape. He had only a second to cope before he was bombarded with mental instructions. He knew he would have to meditate later to sort everything out, but for now he knew what he needed to do. Reaching out with his chakra, Kai grasped the weapon with hands that were purely imaginary. With a jerk, he pulled it free and set it spinning again, smiling at the faces of the other Shinobi who had temporarily put a hold on their own training to allow Kai and Yue use of the field.

Then, as everyone watched, astounded, the shuriken rose up to its former height, level with the center of the target log, and quickly flew forward, cleanly slicing the log in half before drifting slowly back to Kai who smoothly lifted his hand and snatched it out of the air. "So," Kai said with one of Naruto's huge smiles, "Do I still have to take the test again tomorrow?"

--

As it turned out, he did have to take the test again, he just didn't have to wait. First he had to explain what had happened to Yue before she had the other Shinobi set up the course again and made him demonstrate his new ability while everyone watched. Then, he had to do the entire thing again, course and explanation, when Ushina showed up. Then, he was sent to his room for the rest of the day to sort out everything the sword had told him.

Kai was a little overwhelmed by the end of all of this, not to mention worn out from the constant chakra drain controlling the Reimeiken Shuriken caused him. In fact, by the time Ushina and Yue let him get to his meditation, he only had enough energy to stay awake for a few short hours before he passed out on his bed.

--

Kai groaned as he pulled himself from his tangled blankets to stand next to his bed, still in yesterday's clothes. As always, he had been woken by Yue, knocking on his door for his regular early morning wakeup call. Even when he took a huge step toward mastering his new weapon, Kai wasn't given a day off.

"Hang on," Kai called out in response to Yue's frantic knocking, "I'll be out in a second." Moving quickly so Yue didn't decide to resort to a bucket of ice water again, Kai took care of his morning routine before coming downstairs in a fresh outfit, with Reimeiken sheathed on his back as always.

"Morning," Yue grunted as Kai entered the kitchen and proceeded over to the stove. Today was his day to make breakfast and Yue was rarely civil before her breakfast and morning cup of coffee.

After a short time, Kai had made a passable breakfast of eggs and toast. Another part of his training had been Yue trying to teach him how to cook. The keyword there was "trying." Kai wasn't so bad that he could burn water, but he wasn't any great culinary genius.

After the two Shinobi had finished their breakfast, they took their usual route out to the training field. Once they arrived Kai settled himself into his fighting stance, prepared for his normal spar with Yue, but to his surprise, she shook her head. "Sorry, Kai," She said, "Not today."

Kai relaxed and raised one eyebrow, "Then what am I supposed to do today?"

Yue smiled mischievously, "Ushina told me last night that we need to step up your training. There is one part of her visions that has been constant in the last few weeks. Your next sensei is going to get here soon, so we need to get you ready."

Kai was confused, "Next sensei?"

"You need someone to help you learn each of your weapons, right?" Yue prompted.

Kai nodded dumbly, "Uh huh."

"Well, no matter what happens, your next teacher is going to be here any day now," she finished, looking at Kai with another mischievous smile, "And guess what element the weapon is that they're going to teach you."

Kai nearly face faulted, "Earth…"

Yue's smile widened, if that was even possible, "Exactly, now get to meditating. I want that Earth Chakra unlocked by the end of the day today." Kai just groaned.

--

The sun had almost set. Two days ago, Yue had had Kai start on his earth chakra again. Two long, miserable days in which Kai sat on the cold, hard earth all day long and tried to make his chakra feel like dirt… Kai was a miserable Shinobi.

He was currently alone in the training field, but not because he had been ordered to. By this point, Kai was getting frustrated. He knew his next sensei was going to show up soon, he didn't know how he knew, but he did. It might have been his own Miraigan acting up, but Kai had an uneasy feeling that if he didn't get this earth chakra figured out soon, he would miss his chance.

And so Kai found himself sitting in the light of the setting sun, long after everyone else had returned to late night patrols or, for the more sensible and those not bound by duty, to their homes. He was quickly growing numb from his seat on the ground, but he felt none of that. He was in his mindscape, only dimly aware of the passing of time by the gradual change of warmth as the sunlight slipped further and further behind the mountains to the west.

Kai was getting more and more frustrated. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to get the earth chakra down. Yue had said something about it being similar to his water chakra, just in the opposite direction on the wheel, but Kai hadn't quite been able to figure out what she meant.

Sighing into the silence of his mindscape, Kai once again began focusing. He felt a tendril of his rapidly dwindling chakra supply extend from the center of his body and run through the katana lying on his lap, he felt the weapon begin to shift to his lightning form, but before it could, he tried to visualize his chakra as earth. He imagined it as a solid presence, unmoving under all but the most extreme circumstances. He tried to picture it as a rock, and it began to break down. As the chakra fled his grasp, dissipating into the air, he began to lose focus.

Finally, Kai gave it up. 'Stupid chakra,' he thought, 'Won't do what I want it to. Stupid sword, won't give me any help. And speaking of help, why did Yue give me such a cryptic clue, if it was even that.' As Kai ranted mentally, the last of his chakra began to stir, once again following the now familiar path into the sword on his lap.

Kai didn't notice, 'I mean, how is a chakra element wheel that Shinobi created to help them understand how the different elemental chakra related to each other supposed to apply to the actual usage of elemental chakra. It has no real application to elemental chakra itself. It's just a teaching tool. I mean, it's not as if I took my chakra,' Kai mentally grasped the chakra flowing through the sword without realizing it, 'and _twisted_ it the opposite direction from my water chakra…'

Kai stopped his ranting when he was quickly and abruptly ejected from his own mindscape, thrown back into the conscious world by the semi-sentient blade that was glowing with a red-brown light as it sat in his lap. Kai immediately jumped up with the sword in hand, vowing silently not to tell anyone what his train of thought had been that had brought him to this latest change. Kai held the sword out at arm's length, waiting impatiently for the change to begin.

Finally, after what seemed like hours to the exhausted Chunin, the glowing mass that was Reimeiken began to change. The first thing Kai noticed was that the entire weapon began to stretch in his grasp. The hilt stretched downward for a few feet while the blade extended in all directions, growing longer, wider, and thicker. Kai was slightly confused at first. What kind of sword was that big?

Suddenly, the glow faded and Kai found himself holding a zanbatou… A very heavy zanbatou… That was currently falling toward Kai's head. Acting quickly, Kai's fatigue slowed mind forced his tired body to dodge to the side, but he didn't let go of the sword… The Doton Reimeiken continued to fall, but this time with nothing it its way. It landed flat on the ground… and pulled Kai down with it.

With a small cry of surprise, Kai found himself pulled down on top of the colossal sword, smacking his face into the flat of the blade. With a groan, he tried to stand, but found that the fingers of his right hand were pinned beneath the hilt of the sword, preventing him from standing.

Kai wanted to cry. He unlocked the earth form of Reimeiken, and now it was attacking him! With a sigh of self pity, Kai examined his new weapon more closely. Once he got past the pain the thing was causing him, it really was a magnificent weapon. The entire thing was at least six feet long, with around two feet of that being hilt and the rest devoted to the way-too-big-to-be-real blade that was another foot wide and at least two inches thick at the back.

There were dark brown Kanji that Kai couldn't read traveling up the entire length of the side of the silver-white blade that seemed to curve around to the other side up at the top. The hilt was wrapped in leather and was basically plain except for the glint of light still coming from the red-brown crystal embedded in the pommel.

After spending a few more moments admiring the weapon, Kai decided to try to pick it up. Shifting himself around until he was standing just behind the pommel, Kai tightened his grip with his trapped hand and heaved upward. After a few moments of strain, he managed to pick up the hilt of the weapon enough to set his left hand down lower on it to counterbalance his right hand and allow him to pick up the entire sword.

Even with both his arms working to lift the sword, it was still really freaking heavy! To Kai, it seemed as if he had been straining for several minutes at least, but it only took him a fraction of that time to lift the sword up until he was holding it vertically in front of him. Then, as he started to congratulate himself, the sword began to tip once again, this time, straight back at him.

Kai watched in horror as his sleep deprived brain told him to move, but his weary body refused. Kai closed his eyes, waiting for his impending headache/crushed skull until he heard the soft slap of metal hitting flesh. But it didn't hit Kai.

Opening his eyes again, Kai looked up to see a long arm with black and white cloth stretched from wrist to elbow extended over his head, the wide hand attached to that arm was resting easily against the back of the Reimeiken zanbatou. "Looks like your new toy is a little big for you, kid," said the man behind him.

Before Kai could formulate a response, witty or otherwise, he felt his body give out. His knees buckled under the weight of the huge weapon and lack of chakra from an entire day of training. As he fell, Reimeiken shifted back to its katana form, making the man jump slightly as he pulled his hand back.

The man waited a moment, staring down at Kai's unconscious form, before he reached down and picked up the katana. He examined the sword for a moment, then shook his head and placed it into the sheath on Kai's back, "Looks like I got here just in time."

--

AN: Holy cow a lot happened in this chapter! I guess I got a little carried away (scratches back of head and gives readers a Naruto grin).

Sorry for the sappiness in Ushina's story. I started off with the origin of the swords and just decided to go ahead and throw in the last of Ushina's back story at the same time just to get it out of the way. And I know Kai is unlocking his weapon's power very quickly, but just these three. The other two will be a while and the additional powers of each weapon not for a while after that. I just don't know how long that "while" will last.

A little information on the new weapons:

The double-bladed sword is basically like Darth Maul's double-bladed lightsaber from The Phantom Menace (I don't own Star Wars). Since the blades obviously aren't lightsabers, they cannot cut in both directions, so one blade faces one direction, while the other faces the other direction.

The demon wind shuriken is just like the one Sasuke uses against Zabuza in the Wave arc, only the blades are tinted blue and it has Reimeiken's crystal set into the ring where Kai initially grips it.

The big sword is like Zabuza's, only not... It is a zanbatou with a silver blade, like Reimeiken, but there are dark brown kanji on the blade. The handle is about two feet long with the Reimeiken crystal set into the pommel and the blade itself is another four feet. Obviously, it is too heavy for Kai to use right now.

Another challenge to the Readers: What is the Jutsu Kakashi gave Kai? If you haven't figured it out yet, watch the show some more! If you have, submit it in a review and if you're right, which you should be if you call yourself a Naruto fan (lol), an imaginary ramen bowl 4 U! (Be sure to give me a flavor) But the answer has to be submitted before I reveal it openly, not that it's hard to guess.

Oh and if you want, you can try to guess the identity of the mysterious man from the end of the chapter, but you're going to find out who he is next chapter anyway : )

Jutsu List:

_Doton: Ishi Rendan_: Earth Release: Stone Barrage

Reimeiken: Dawnblade

Higureken: Duskblade

I recently had a friend (Izumi) who created a character on a Naruto RPG site. She explained to me how she had to work on her idea for Izumi so she wouldn't be too powerful. If she had been, the people in charge of the site wouldn't let her use that particular character. It got me thinking, "Is Kai getting too strong?" That was one reason I emphasized his chakra based limitations in this chapter. No matter how kick ass his weapons may get; he will always be limited by the amount of chakra he can carry within himself. I plan on introducing a few things to help him with that so he won't be way outclassed by an agile Genin with a lot of chakra (lol), but I am going to have to remember to keep Kai's power in check. A super-character fic is good every once in a while, but I feel that some people tend to overdo it. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can deal with this, or if you ever think Kai is getting too powerful, just let me know in a review… Which you should leave anyway : )


	8. Chapter 8

--

Chapter 8

--

Disclaimer:

AN: Who is the mysterious man who saved Kai? Why is he there? Why am I asking you these questions when you haven't even read the chapter yet?

Response to Reviewers:

Gravenimage: I know you didn't ask a question but I just wanted fto thank you for leaving another review less than five minutes after I posted the chapter.

Silver Shadowbreeze: Thanks for the element wheel info. I would use it, but I've already written too much using my version... And I'm very lazy... I'll admit, my wheel was somewhat inspired by the relationships between the different Pokemon types (which I don't own), but its all I could come up with at the time. And the Zanbatou didn't really attack him; it was just way too heavy for him, which just makes it funnier in my mind.

Thanks for the reviews, both of you : )

--

Kai was in a park. He was in a park with Ino. Between them on a large blanket was an open picnic basket. It was just the two of them, with no one else in sight. The food was good, the day was warm, and the view was… very nice. If he listened closely, he could even hear the birds chirping in the background… wait a second…

Kai opened his eyes and groaned. It had been a dream. A GOOD dream, but a dream nonetheless. He sighed as he settled back into the comforting embrace of his pillow. It would be nice if he could have dreams like that more often.

He then realized that there was sunlight shining through his open window, which was also letting in the melody of the birdsong that had woken him. Hang on, sunlight?

Kai sat up straight. He was supposed to be at the clearing each morning before sunrise. Why hadn't Yue woken him up? Was something wrong?

The Chunin immediately began struggling with his blankets, silently cursing the extra time it took him to extricate himself from the tangle his sleeping body had wound himself in. Once he was free, he silently lowered his feet to the floor next to his bed, noticing he was still in his clothes from the night before, and slipped on his boots. Then, after a few seconds of frantic searching, he felt a mental pull and turned to find Reimeiken lying on top of his dresser and strapped it to his back as well.

Now feeling more comfortable with his ever-present blade, Kai slowly and silently made his way over to his window. Crouching below the sill, so no one could see him from below, Kai peered out over the village. Nothing looked to be out of the ordinary, in fact, he could clearly hear the sounds of the villagers still rebuilding their lives even after all the weeks of work they had gone through since they returned.

Then, Kai looked up toward the sun. If he read its position right, it was around 10:00 AM. Why hadn't Yue woken him up like she usually did? And what about…

Kai gasped silently. The guy from last night! The one who had caught his sword on the training field before he passed out! Who was he, and what was he doing here? Could it be possible that this mysterious person had done something to Yue and his mother?

Forcing himself to calm down, Kai began focusing, extending his senses so he could try to locate the familiar chakra signatures of his mother and friend. He found them, along with Akira, Hanzo, and two other strangely familiar signatures that he couldn't quite identify, downstairs. They didn't seem to be in any kind of trouble as far as Kai could tell, but that didn't mean that they were safe either.

Then, Kai heard a noise coming from outside the window above him. Slowly, Kai shifted to the side before standing up alongside his window, still hiding himself from any onlookers, and peered out. Sitting calmly in a tree growing beside the house was the white falcon his mother had summoned. The bird seemed to nod, almost as if it was acknowledging his presence, before it extended its wings and hopped off its perch, gliding smoothly down to the kitchen window below Kai's and through it into the house.

Kai heard his mother exclaim, "Oh, Kai must be awake," followed by the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.

A few seconds later, Yue opened the door to his room, "Happy Birthday Kai!"

Kai just stared at her stupidly, "Huh?"

Yue nearly facefaulted, "You don't know what today is, do you?"

The confused boy wordlessly shook his head.

"August 27th… Your birthday… Any of this ringing a bell?"

Suddenly it clicked, "My… My birthday? Today is my birthday?"

Yue nodded, smiling, "Yep, as of today, your thirteen."

Kai just smiled. He had never really put any thought into when his birthday was. He had obviously not known, but had had much more important things to deal with since arriving in Konoha to worry about it. "So," he hesitated slightly, "that's why you didn't wake me up earlier? Because it's my birthday?"

Yue nodded, "That's one of the reasons. You've been training almost nonstop since we got here, so I figured that you needed a day off. Besides you have other, more important things to deal with today."

Kai tilted his head slightly, "Like…"

Yue laughed, "Like eating cake. Now hurry up and change, but keep your sword and stuff with you. Just change into a clean outfit. Just because you don't have to train doesn't mean you won't be demonstrating your skills for an audience."

Kai nodded slowly, "I'm guessing that my audience is the two strangers downstairs."

Yue smiled again, giving him an I-know-something-you-don't-know look, "You got it, although they aren't as much of strangers as you may think." Kai then heard a loud, deep laugh coming from the kitchen. "Well, it looks like they're still having fun without me. I'm gonna head on back down, you need to get ready and join us when you can."

With that, Yue left his doorway and made her way back down the stairs. Kai stood by the window for a few more minutes before heading into his attached bathroom and brushing his teeth, taking a shower, etc. Once he emerged, now in a fresh outfit with Reimeiken still securely strapped to his back, he made his way out of his room and closed the door silently behind him before hesitantly making his way down the hall to the stairs.

Slowly, Kai walked down the stairs, growing more nervous with each step. He emerged from the bottom of the steps into the hallway that ran down the middle of Yue's house, and turned toward the kitchen at the far end of the hall. There was a conspicuous lack of noise as he walked that made him slightly uneasy.

That unease only got worse when he stepped into the kitchen, only to find that it was empty. Kai stepped warily into the room, extending his senses once more as he walked. Then, just as he got to the middle of the room, he felt a mental warning coming from his sword just before someone delivered a strong kick to his side, sending him flying out the open door and into Yue's front yard.

Kai quickly gained control of his flight and flipped himself around so he landed in a crouch, sliding a few feet through the dirt before coming to a stop, and activated his bloodline. A few seconds later, Kai felt multiple pinprick warnings all over his body and jumped into the air just in time to avoid a dozen senbon needles that peppered the ground where he had just been crouching.

Once again feeling a warning from his bloodline, Kai drew Reimeiken and swung it through the air, neatly deflecting another barrage of needles that was sent toward him. Kai hit the ground again, but was forced to quickly jump to the side when he spotted a huge sword spiraling through the air straight toward him. The oversized blade impacted the ground where he had been standing and drove itself several feet into the earth before exploding in a burst of water.

As Kai watched, the water suddenly stopped moving, suspended in midair, before it separated into dozens of droplets that then lengthened into ice needles.

"Shit," Kai said as he jumped backward, focusing his regular chakra into Reimeiken to change its form. As soon as he landed, the needles all darted forward, and Kai began spinning his double-bladed sword in front of him, using chakra to enhance his movements, causing the needles to shatter when they impacted the electrically charged weapon in front of him.

Where were these things coming from? Who was attacking him and what had they done with his mother, Yue, Akira, and Hanzo? As these questions ran through his mind, a small part of him was trying to remember where he had seen huge swords, senbon needles, and ice all in the same place before.

As soon as the barrage of needles ended, Kai lowered his weapon into a ready stance, holding the sword in his right hand with the back of one blade pressed against the back of his forearm while the weapon pointed off to his side with his left arm slightly bent in front of him as his legs took a wide stance.

Kai paused for a few moments, trying to catch his breath while he tried to figure out who was attacking him. Then, just as he managed to clear his thoughts a little, his bloodline sent him another warning, this time from all around.

Forcing himself relax, Kai sank into the 'lessons' Reimeiken had 'given' him and swung the double-bladed sword around in front of him, spinning it from one hand to the other, as the blades neatly deflected the senbon flying toward him from the front before sweeping it behind him as well, taking care of those that were behind him. For the next thirty seconds, Kai continuously spun his weapon around, shifting his stance only slightly as his hands and arms moved in a blur, wielding the exotic weapon so that each needle only caught the edge enough to deflect it away from his body, so that he would have the most possible time to stop the next.

He was in a trance. There was nothing in the world except Reimeiken, himself, and the seemingly endless stream of senbon and ice needles flying at him from all directions. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the warnings from his bloodline stopped and he returned to his ready position.

Kai glanced around him and took stock of the scattered senbon needles and shattered ice needles around him. He hadn't seen so many since his team had fought Haku on the bridge in Wave Country… Wait a second… Senbon needles… Ice… overly large swords flying through the air…

Suddenly it clicked, "What the hell Zabuza! Is this how you treat a guy on his birthday?"

Kai heard the same deep laugh from earlier as Zabuza came out from behind Yue's house, clapping as he walked. "About time you figured it out kid," the Mist Nin said with a smile, "I was afraid I was going to have to throw another sword at you."

Kai heard a small thump behind him and turned to see the feminine form of Haku next to him. "Hello Kai," he said as he stooped to collect his senbon, "do you think you could give me a hand with these?"

"Uh… sure…" Shrugging, Kai cut of the chakra flow to Reimeiken, causing the weapon to shift back to its katana form, before he sheathed the blade and bent down to help Haku collect the senbon. Once the projectiles had all been retrieved, Haku stored them in his hip pouch one again, which somehow managed to hold the numerous projectiles, and the two Shinobi walked toward Yue's house, where Zabuza was still standing.

"I must say," Zabuza said once they came within easy conversation distance, "you really surprised me back there kid. You weren't bad back in Wave Country, but I can tell your skills have greatly improved since then."

Kai bowed slightly, "Thank you Zabuza-san."

The Jonin waved it off and gestured for the two boys to follow him back into the house, where Kai found a plate of bacon and eggs waiting for him at the table, while his mother and the others stood nearby.

Akira and Hanzo gave him an identical set of thumbs-ups while Yue smiled, "Great job Kai, I think you passed his test."

Zabuza just nodded, "With flying colors."

Kai was once again confused, "What test?"

"Just eat your breakfast Kai," Ushina said, smiling along with the rest of the people in the kitchen, "we'll explain while you eat."

As it turned out, Zabuza had arrived the night before, just in time to stop Kai's newly transformed Doton Reimeiken from caving his head in. Ushina had sent him a message with the white falcon to ask him to come and teach Kai how to use his oversized sword, and he had agreed on the condition that Kai passed his test. The only problem was, Zabuza had no intention of staying in the village.

"So, we'll probably end up leaving tomorrow. The earlier the better. I want to get over the mountains quickly," Zabuza was saying while Kai thoughtfully chewed his food.

Then, he realized what Zabuza had said. "Huh?" he got out around his mouthful of eggs and toast, forcing himself to swallow before continuing, "You mean we're leaving?"

Ushina nodded, smiling sadly, "As strong as you could get by training here Kai, you won't get the experience you need, and in the life of a Shinobi, that could cost you."

Kai nodded sadly and looked down at what remained of his breakfast; somehow, he didn't think he could to finish it. Yue decided that there had been enough sadness for one birthday. "Alright," she shouted, "That's enough of that. We've got a full day ahead of us, so let's not start if off by moping around. Kai you've got to show your new sensei and training partner what you're capable of, so let's get out to the training field!"

Kai groaned at her training enthusiasm, but grabbed the last bit of his toast and popped it in his mouth as he took his plate over to the sink and cleaned it off. Then, once his chore was taken care of, he followed Yue and the others out the door.

--

Kai was exhausted. It was about three in the afternoon and he had just spent the last four hours running through every exercise he knew while Zabuza and Haku watched.

First, he and Yue had had a quick spar before he ran through all the Kenjutsu Kata he knew. Then, Akira and Hanzo had taken turns fighting with him with their own Katana before he had to fight both of them at the same time using his Raiton Reimeiken. After that, he had run through his archery exercises and then every Jutsu he knew, including Kakashi's, which made Zabuza laugh.

By that time, it was around 1:00 and Kai was tired enough, but then Zabuza and Yue stepped aside for a moment before telling him to do it all again without his weights. When he finally finished, he was a very unhappy Chunin. This was not at all how he had imagined his birthday being. He had had abstract thoughts of a huge cake and a bigger pile of presents, but he had never thought he would spend the entire day training.

"Alright Kai," Ushina said, finally showing pity on her exhausted son, "fun's over. Let's had back."

Kai gave her a halfhearted glare when she referred to the day's work thus far as 'fun,' but stumbled after her anyway as the group made their way into the streets of the village. Kai was so worn out, he didn't notice when they passed up Yue's house and continued on down the street.

He couldn't help but notice, however, when Yue suddenly pushed him from behind, causing him to stumble into the town square by the Inn where he and Yue had first fought and defeated Genbu and his bandits. Nor could he fail to notice the huge crowd of people that had gathered there.

"SURPRISE!" the villagers shouted together, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAI!"

The Chunin was very surprised. Of all things, he definitely hadn't been expecting this. Yue caught sight of his confused look and laughed, walking up next to him, "You didn't think we would let you get through your birthday without a real party now did you? Besides, the villagers see you as the savior of their town," Yue's voice turned a little grumpy, "despite the fact that we both fought off the bandits."

Kai saw her smile, which showed she was joking, and hesitantly smiled himself, "I guess I just got caught off guard is all."

Ushina laughed as she came up to his other side, "Not surprising after the way we've been working you Kai. But, it was a necessary evil." As she spoke, she stealthily slipped a soldier pill into his hand, "Well I guess there's nothing left to do today but enjoy the party." Kai smiled and quickly popped the pill into his mouth, feeling his chakra immediately jump up to a more comfortable level.

Now that he was feeling a little more awake, Kai took a look around the clearing. The first thing he noticed was the number of people. It's not as if he didn't like crowds, as long as he didn't have to speak in front of them, but he just didn't realize that there were that many people in the village. Not only that, but they were all smiling at him. It was kind of unnerving when he thought about it. Before his birthday, the only big crowds he had met had either been made up of enemies he had to kill or mobs of drunken villagers trying to kill _him_. Not a good experience…

Kai didn't have any more time to think, however, as Yue decided that it was time he got into the festivities and gave him another powerful shove in the center of his back. Kai stumbled forward, completely caught off guard, and nearly fell flat on his face before he felt several sets of hands grab at him and pull him back up.

When he stood again, he found himself standing before the muscle bound man who served as the village's blacksmith. "Kai, you have given us a great gift. When you restored our town to us…"

"With some help!" Yue called from her spot.

The blacksmith nodded and smiled at Yue, "With some help… You gave us our hope back. I just want you to know that no one here holds anything that has happened against you. Not Hito attacking. Not the bandits. Nothing. You will always be welcome here, no matter what trouble you get yourself into." Several people in the crowd chuckled at that, knowing that, as a Shinobi, Kai would probably end up in deep trouble sooner or later.

Kai bowed slightly, "Thank you very much. I really don't know how to thank you all for your kindness…"

"Oh stop trying to be mushy. Let's just get this thing going."

Kai turned toward the voice and saw Mika standing off to one side with the other girls, each of them smiling at his obvious shyness and embarrassment.

Yue, once again, intervened on his behalf, "You heard the girl, let's get this party started!"

The next few hours were some of the best in Kai's short memory. Not only was he at a party with family and friends, but it was for him. And that, of course, made everything even better. The first thing he did was eat. And, of course, there was plenty of fried chicken to be had. After all, why shouldn't he have his favorite food on his birthday?

Once everyone finished, Mika, Ayame, and Kanami brought out a very large, three layered cake that suddenly made Kai hungry again. Once the cake had been sufficiently devoured, they were all about to start some party games when a shout echoed across the village.

"Hold on, almost there!"

Kai turned and saw a slightly hunched figure jogging toward the huge congregation in the village square. As the man got closer, Kai somehow got the feeling that he recognized him. Acting on a whim, Kai used his Miraigan and caught sight of the man's face as he got closer to the crowd.

"Sarutobi-sensei!" Kai shouted as he jumped up from his seat and leapt over the heads of the awed crowd to reach the elderly Hokage.

Sarutobi laughed when Kai landed in front of him and ran up to hug the old man. "How are you doing Kai?"

"I'm fine Sarutobi-sensei, what about you? Wait… Why aren't you in Konoha?"

"So many questions Kai," Sarutobi laughed, "let an old man sit down first will you?"

Kai blushed lightly and turned to lead the Sandaime through the crowd over to one of the large tables that had been set out for the day's events. Once they were both seated, Sarutobi turned to Kai, "Alright, to answer your questions: I'm fine, just a little worn out from the traveling, and I retired from my position as Hokage."

There was a gasp from the crowd as the nearby people heard what the elderly Shinobi had said and realized who had just joined their party. Kai, however, didn't notice, "Then, who's Hokage now?"

"I sent Naruto with my old student Jiraiya, who was supposed to be your sealing teacher after the exams, to find another of my former students, Tsunade. Assuming that they can convince her, she will be the Godaime Hokage of Konoha."

"Tsunade, huh?" Kai paused for a moment and then shrugged, "Well, whatever works. How is Naruto doing?"

Sarutobi coughed, "He was fairly angry at Danzo and the council for a while after you left. In fact, I sent him on this mission with Jiraiya mostly to get him out of the village before he got himself into trouble. You see, he has been pranking various members of the council in an act of vengeance for voting to strip you of your rank. He had actually managed to avoid being caught, but it was only a matter of time, so I sent him off and told Jiraiya to try and convince him to stop what he had been doing before he got himself into even more trouble."

Kai laughed, "That sounds like oni-san."

Just then, Ushina and Yue found their way to Kai's table and took seats across from him and the Hokage. "Greetings Hokage-sama," Ushina said, "I am pleased to find that you made it here alright."

Sarutobi looked at her, then at Kai, and then back at her before smiling, "Then you must be Kai's mother… Ushina was it? Thank you for the invitation by the way. This makes a nice little vacation for me, and what better way to spend a vacation than by visiting old students."

Kai glanced at his mother to see her staring innocently back at him. He smiled before turning back to Sarutobi and continuing their conversation.

--

The night eventually wore down as the villagers trickled off in ones and twos to head back to their own houses. Eventually, it was just Kai, Ushina, Zabuza, and Sarutobi sitting at one of the now clean tables.

"So," Sarutobi was saying, "you're going to be Kai's next teacher."

Zabuza nodded, shifting slightly under the strangely penetrating gaze of the elderly Hokage, "Yeah, I'm about the only one who can teach him how to wield the earth form of his sword, so there really isn't much choice in the matter. Besides, I've been wanting to put a little extra diversity on our résumé, and adding a potential assassin to it will be a big help."

"What do you mean Zabuza-sensei?" Kai asked, his fatigue fogged mind completely confused.

"Well Kai, after we left Wave Country, Haku and I laid low for a while, long enough that our Statute of Limitations ran out. We're effectively free men now."

"That's great," Kai responded tiredly.

Zabuza nodded again, "And that means that we can take more honest work now. No more working for crime lords like before. Basically, we're going to become mercenaries, and you're coming along. With an assassin on our team, we'll be able to take a wider range of jobs, not to mention the help another pair of hands will be with just about everything else."

Kai nodded sleepily as he tried to process what this all meant. He would be a mercenary. That meant more missions. Using some of his as of yet untested skills. Possibly assassination missions… "Whoa, what?" Kai jerked as the realization hit him.

Zabuza laughed, "Your mother was right kid, you will make a fairly good assassin. You won't be able to grow into liking the killing, and you're more than capable of doing the jobs themselves. Don't worry though, we won't take a mission you object to. Any time an assassination missions comes up, you'll have input on whether or not we take it."

Kai relaxed again, once more in danger of drifting off, "Thanks Zabuza-sensei, I appreciate it."

Ushina laughed, "Well, there are still a few things to take care of before you can leave tomorrow Kai, so why don't you get to bed. We'll take care of what we can now, and you can help with the rest in the morning."

Kai nodded before standing up and stumbling sleepily toward Yue's house. Before he made it five steps, however, he passed out, the entire day finally catching up to him with dramatic, and somewhat humerous, results.

--

Kai groaned as he sat up in his bed; once again he was still dressed in his regular Shinobi outfit. He was really getting sick of waking up in yesterday's clothes. After cleaning himself up and changing clothes, Kai made his way downstairs to find out who was up, or even still around.

What he found when he got there was a small pile of wrapped boxes, each of which had his name on it. After a few moments of thought, Kai realized that these must be his presents. It really made sense though, since he had never gotten to open any gifts during the actual party the day before. First things first though, Kai decided to get himself something to eat.

He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a few eggs before turning on the stove and getting out a pan. After a few more minutes, Kai had prepared himself a passable breakfast. Once he had finished his meal, he got down to the fun part.

Pulling the closest gift toward him, Kai took a moment to see it was from Sarutobi before eagerly tearing the paper from around it, revealing an old book. He looked all over the outside, but couldn't find any writing. As he opened it, a folded piece of paper slipped out onto the table, catching Kai's attention.

He unfolded it to reveal a quick note in the sharp script of Sarutobi:

Kai,

I'm sorry I wasn't able to be here when you woke up, but it took me so long to get up here that if I want to get back to Konoha before my vacation time is up I need to leave ASAP. The book is my gift to you to help with your seal training. Since Jiraiya has already taken Naruto under his wing I decided that I couldn't leave you without any further instruction.

This book was the very one I taught Jiraiya from when he was still my student, so it should be exactly what you need to finish your seal training. I expect to see at least one original seal in your arsenal by the time we meet again.

Sarutobi

Kai closed the book again and ran his fingers over the hardbound cover. It would definitely come in handy in the future.

Carefully setting the book aside, Kai reached for the next gift, one from Yue. Underneath the wrapping paper was a plain brown box, which he quickly opened, revealing a small, light blue…thing. He picked it up and turned it over in his hands. It was egg shaped, although it was a little flatter and larger than a regular egg. All in all, it was about four inches long with a several holes drilled into it and a small, hollow protrusion coming from the side of the wide end. He then realized that it might be some kind of an instrument.

Looking into the box again, Kai saw a blue book and another note. He opened the note from Yue and quickly skimmed over it.

Kai,

This is an Ocarina. I know you don't remember, but back before Hito came, you used to always want me to play you something on my Ocarina and I finally promised you that I would get you your own on your next birthday so you could learn yourself. Obviously you know what happened. The book contains a few lessons and exercises to help you get the hang of it, but it really isn't that hard to play.

I hope you had a good birthday,

Yue

P.S. I suggest you keep it in a sealing scroll. It's made of clay and can break easily if you're not careful.

Once again, Kai placed his gift aside, touched by what he had received so far, and pulled over the next, this one from Akira and Hanzo. This time, the package contained what looked like a new set of kunai and shuriken, but upon checking his weapon pouch, he realized that they were his own set that the two Shinobi had refurbished. Each weapon had been sharpened and the leather wrapping on the kunai hilts had been replaced. Underneath the projectiles was a small box labeled "blade care kit."

Kai smiled, the two Shinobi had been somewhat confused when he told them he didn't need to sharpen Reimeiken because of its nature. The blade naturally stayed sharp without him having to do any extra work, and no matter what he struck with it, it wouldn't lose its edge. Apparently the twins had decided that he should have the necessary equipment to take care of his smaller weapons since he didn't need anything for his sword.

Kai then turned to the final package on the table; one from his mother. He unwrapped the gift to reveal yet another box, which, upon opening, revealed a small notebook and a sealing scroll. Kai opened the notebook and read:

Kai,

Your gift from me is a two-parter, but you'll have to get the rest of it from me personally. In this notebook, I have written down all I know about our clan and bloodline, including what little I know about the seal for your bow and arrows since you were so curious about it.

The sealing scroll contains a change of clothes for you since you can't exactly run around on an assassin mission wearing exactly the same thing as you do the rest of the time. One of the most important things you need to remember about being an assassin is that you must, above all, preserve your identity. Never let anyone, except those that you trust above all else, know that you are an assassin. The technique I taught you will help with that, but wearing a different outfit will help as well.

There are a few other things in here that should come in handy, but I'll leave you to discover that on your own. As soon as you finish opening your gifts, you should pack your things and come out to the training field , Zabuza is anxious to get going.

With Love,

Mom

Kai finished reading the note and grabbed his new stuff before running back upstairs to pack his things. He went through the familiar routine of sealing his extra clothes in one scroll, which he then placed in his weapon pouch, before sealing his gifts into another scroll, each item in its own seal, and putting that alongside the first.

It was then that he realized exactly what he was about to do. He was leaving his family behind again, but this time, it wasn't against his will. He would be able to remember them and know that they were still out there somewhere. It would definitely be hard. Would he even be able to go through with it?

Kai sighed and walked into the bathroom before looking into the mirror. He ran a hand through his hair before tracing a finger down the red-brown scar cutting across his face. He was different than he had once been, but not just on the outside. Kai was no longer an innocent boy who was handed a bunch of sharp, pointy objects. He was a Shinobi, and he was dangerous to those who threatened him or his precious people.

The scar did wonders to promote that image, and, in the world of a Shinobi, looking the part was just as important as having the skills to do the job. That thought brought him around to the training his mother had been giving him. How Yue had taught him to use his new weapon.

In that moment, Kai decided he was going to follow the path laid out before him. He could leave this behind him, because he knew that his family would be waiting for him when he returned.

With his resolve firmed, Kai turned and checked over his room one last time before heading out and down the stairs. He paused once more in the kitchen before walking out the door, forcing himself not to look back.

--

"Morning," Kai called out as he caught sight of his mother and the others standing at the edge of the training field.

"About time kid," Zabuza called back, waving, "we were about to leave without you."

"Sorry Zabuza-sensei," Kai said with a Naruto grin while scratching the back of his head, "I guess I was more tired than I thought."

Ushina smiled as Kai walked up to her before wrapping him in a hug, "Did you get all your gifts?"

Kai nodded, "Yes, and thank you." He nodded to Yue, Akira, and Hanzo who smiled back at him.

"Well then," Ushina said, "I guess there is only one more thing to give you then." Ushina turned away before slowly lifting her hand up to her neckline and grasping something below her collar. Slowly, she lifted what looked like a necklace over her head and gathered it into her closed hand.

Turning back to Kai, she took his hand and placed the necklace into it. "This necklace," she said, "is a Wareta Clan family heirloom. It has been passed down from generation to generation whenever the new heir comes of age, but only if they have unlocked their bloodline. It is long past the time it should have been passed on to you."

Kai looked down at the necklace he held with a slight amount of awe. It looked fairly ordinary at first glance. The chain was nothing special, just made out of plain silver, but the small pendant on the end somehow drew his eye. At first glance, it was just a plain silver disk, no more than two inches across, but suddenly the center began to glow with a fierce light. As he watched, the glow spread out to encompass the entire disk before it gave off one last pulse and faded. The disk now had an etching in it in the shape of a falcon's head.

Kai looked up at his mother, who smiled down at him and placed one finger over her lips, "No one but the holder can see what the pendant does, but I would imagine by your expression that it has accepted you." Kai looked back down at the amulet before nodding and slipping it over his head, tucking it behind his shirt, all the while trying not to think about the fact that he had just added _another_ intelligent item to his collection.

"Are you done over there kid?" Zabuza called out.

Ushina gave a comical frown, "Yes Zabuza-san, he's done. You're not being hunted anymore, so you don't need to rush everywhere."

"You're right. Haku and I aren't," Zabuza shifted his gaze from Ushina to Kai, "but he is."

Kai began to sweat when he realized Zabuza was right. He was technically a Missing Nin. He wouldn't be safe anywhere…

"Not a problem," Ushina said casually, instantly drawing Kai's attention to her again, "with that scar on his face he isn't as easily recognizable anymore. In fact, I doubt that anyone from Konoha would recognize him as long as he stops acting like that friend of his. If he can avoid that, he shouldn't have too much of a problem getting by the inevitable Hunter Nin."

Zabuza stared intently at Kai for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, I suppose your right Ushina. Especially since he doesn't have his Hitai-ate." Kai blushed slightly when he thought about where his Hitai-ate was, something Zabuza, thankfully, didn't notice. "Well, I guess that's the end of that, but we do need to get going so we can get over the mountains before nightfall."

Kai nodded before turning to Ushina again, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, Ushina wrapped him in another bone crushing hug, tears running freely from her eyes. Kai couldn't help but hug her back, allowing the tears to run from his eyes as well. He knew he would see her again one day, but that didn't make things any easier.

Finally, Ushina released him, only for Kai to find himself engulfed in another hug, this time from Yue. She broke it off much sooner, only to ruffle his hair and say, "Take care of yourself Kai."

He nodded and walked over to Akira and Hanzo, who each held out a hand for him to shake. After that, he continued walking toward Zabuza and Haku until he heard a shout behind him, "Don't even think about leaving yet!"

Kai turned again only to get tackled to the ground by a running Ayame, soon followed by Kanami, Satsume, and Naomi, who all jumped on the quickly forming pile with Kai getting crushed at the bottom. Mika stood nearby, holding in her laughter as the girls jumped on top of Kai, who just lay there with swirls in his eyes.

Finally, Mika decided to step in, "Alright girls, let him up." Slowly, they all climbed off of Kai's prone form, allowing him to get to his feet as well.

"We just didn't want you to leave without saying goodbye," Mika said as she stepped forward giving him another hug. After that, each of the other girls followed suit, and once they had all said their goodbyes, they started back to the village. "There's still a lot to do here," Mika explained as she left, "but don't let that stop you. You've still got to get back to Konoha so you can go out with that Ino girl you have a crush on."

Kai blushed again as he waved to Mika and the others before once again turning toward Zabuza. "Are you ready now?" the Jonin asked.

Kai nodded and Zabuza and Haku turned toward the road over the mountains. "Let's get going then," Zabuza said as he started off with Haku following close behind. Kai immediately followed them up the road and out of the village. When they reached the bottom of the slope that wound up through the mountains he paused and turned back. Spread out before him was his former home. The place he had lived in for twelve years. The only problem was he remembered nothing of it. The only memories he had had been created in the last several weeks. This place, which should have been special, held very little meaning to him any more.

He saw Ushina and Yue, still standing where he had left them, watching him for as long as they could keep him in sight, and smiled. He would return here, one day, he couldn't leave his family behind forever. Turning back toward the mountains and his future, Kai sprinted to catch up with Zabuza and Haku.

--

AN: Just so you know, from now on, I'll be referring to each of Reimeiken's weapon forms by its element. So the double-bladed sword is the Raiton Reimeiken, the Fuma Shuriken is the Suiton Reimeiken, and the Zanbatou is the Doton Reimeiken. It's just easier for me this way.

A little legal lesson for you:

A Statute of Limitations is a statement that defines the period of time in which legal action may be taken against a criminal. Essentially, in this example, the time limit to catch Zabuza and Haku ran out, so they are officially removed from the bingo books. I know this isn't really likely given Zabuza's crimes, but I needed it to happen for my fic to work, and that's how it's going to be. : )

The Ocarina is something I have been planning for a while now. Kai is eventually going to use it as a kind of release, letting out some of his emotions through the music. I personally own a replica Ocarina of Time (I don't own Legend of Zelda) and I know how soothing it can be. I wanted Kai to have something that was completely unrelated to his Shinobi profession, and I looked over and saw my Ocarina. The rest, as they say, is history.

Jutsu List:

NONE AGAIN! ARGH! (Smashes head against wall)

Next chapter we get into Kai's travels, training, and missions with Zabuza and Haku. MORE ZABUZA! YAY! Please Review.


	9. Chapter 9

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Chapter 9

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and Zabuza kicks ass!

Response to Reviewers:

Kaibaspetdragon: Thanks!

Silvershadowbreeze: The necklace is something that I planned on having Kai have for a while. It has something to do with his clan, but you'll have to wait to find out about that. As far as going back to Konoha, I don't think that will happen for a while. I think I'll have another few chapters in the present before a timeskip to the end to his time with Zabuza and Haku. Then he'll have a few chapters on his own before heading off to his next sensei for another of his Reimeiken forms. After a few chapters with them, I'll probably send him back to Konoha.

Gravenimage: Thanks for the review.

AN: Chapter 9, missions, training, more missions, more training, and other bits of random awesomeness.

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"I've spotted the target."

"Copy Haku, moving to your location."

"Target Located, do we move in?"

"Not yet Kai, just cool it."

Kai sat in a tree, scowling down at the figure below him. He, Zabuza, and Haku had been trailing him for a few hours now. It was surprising how well he managed to hide, but it was all coming to an end now. Then, he heard Zabuza's voice come over his headset, "Haku, go!"

In an instant, Haku leapt out from behind a bush across the clearing and flung dozens of ice senbon toward their target, who froze for a second too long, allowing the frozen projectiles to imbed themselves into the ground all around him. Then, with a quick pulse of chakra, and a little focus, the ice needles morphed into a cage, entrapping the enraged… cat.

"You know," Kai said as he dropped down from his tree and walked to meet Zabuza next to Haku and their mission target, "when I joined up with you two, I never would have thought that we would end up doing missions just like the ones I did back in Konoha."

"Pickings are a little slim now kid," Zabuza said grimly as he bent down and picked up the cage by its icy handle, "we were lucky to get this one as it is."

Kai had been with Zabuza and Haku for a little under a month, and, as Zabuza had put it, pickings had been slim. They had been doing 'missions' that were almost exactly the same as the D-ranks back in Konoha that Kai and his team had had to suffer through at the beginning of their Genin careers, right down to catching the local lord's cat…again and again and again.

"Stupid Taro," Kai muttered glaring at the fat, black cat sitting in the ice cage as he followed Zabuza back toward the village where the cat's owner was waiting anxiously for their return…again.

"You would think that they would at least put a leash on the damn thing after the first twenty times it got away," Haku said, his frustration showing through his usually calm demeanor.

"Well look at it this way," Zabuza said, unusually cheery, "at least we've gotten a chance to work on our teamwork with our new member." Kai and Haku rolled their eyes as they continued their trek through the forest.

----------

"Cat Taro, returned," Zabuza said proudly as he held out the icy cage to the fat woman standing anxiously by the door to the mercenary's guild. Haku rolled his eyes as the woman eagerly held her hands out underneath the cage, glaring impatiently at him, wanting him to release the cat as he always did. With a sigh, Haku pulsed his chakra, causing the entire cage to melt at once, freeing the now shocked, and slightly damp, cat, which then fell into the woman's arms before being crushed in a hug that would have broken Zabuza's back.

"Oh Taro," she practically screamed, "Mommy missed you so!" The woman wobbled off as Zabuza, Haku, and Kai all sweatdropped before walking into the building to collect their pay.

"Zabuza, Haku, and Kai reporting back, mission Catch the Cat once again, successful," Zabuza, as their official spokesperson, casually leaned against the counter while speaking to the guild rep, a bored looking man in a suit, "Do you have anything else for us?"

The man pushed a small package, their pay for retrieving the cat, over to them before turning and shuffling through a few papers lying on the counter. After a few seconds he spoke up, "Nope, sorry Zabuza-san, nothing else here for you today. Maybe if you check back tomorrow there'll be something besides that fucking cat." Kai smiled, it seemed that even the guild representatives were tired of sending mercs off after that same dumb cat day after day.

"Alright, we'll see you tomorrow then," Zabuza said with a wave as he walked out of the building, ducking slightly to keep his sword, which Kai now knew was called Kubikiri Houcho, from hitting the top of the door frame.

Once out on the street again, the three set off for their camp. While they could have stayed at one of the inns in town, Zabuza had chosen to save money by just camping on the outskirts. It wasn't as if they weren't used to living it rough, or at least Zabuza and Haku weren't. Although Kai was not as accustomed to the lifestyle as his two companions, he still managed to get by, but that was mostly because his training left him too tired at night to complain about sleeping on the ground with only the inadequate cushioning of his sleeping bag to keep him off it.

When the three finally arrived at their campsite, sunset was only an hour away. "Alright you two," Zabuza said, once more stepping into the role of the leader, "Same as last night. Haku, go try to catch us something edible, Kai, you're on firewood." Zabuza said this with a wicked grin as Kai felt his sore arms protest.

But there was nothing he could do to get out of it. "Hai sensei," Kai said with a sigh as he turned to the forest and walked away, searching for a tree that would fit his purposes.

After about ten minutes of searching, he found one. It was about fifteen feet tall and at least two feet wide. Kai then drew Reimeiken and began focusing chakra into the blade, making it glow a light blue, and swung it twice, once to cut the tree clean through, and once to cut a wedge out of one side so it would fall the way he wanted it too. Then he kicked out the wedge and, as it started to fall, leapt into the air and, using the trees around him as springboards, darted all around the falling giant, cleanly trimming off all the branches.

After the log hit the ground with a thump that sent several birds into startled flight, Kai walked around to what had formerly been the top and pulled a coil of rope out of his hip-pouch. This rope was special in that the holder could focus chakra through it, allowing it to stick to whatever surface he wished. Kai placed each end of the rope on either side of the log and focused his chakra into the rope, making it adhere to the wood, before he turned and braced himself against the rope, standing within the loop it made.

Kai then began focusing his chakra to his muscles, giving him the strength to begin dragging the log through the brush on the forest floor and back toward his camp. He was just glad that the trees weren't too thick here, otherwise his already miserable chore would become even harder.

----------

By the time Kai managed to drag the log back into the camp, Haku had returned with a trio of rabbits, each of which had already been prepped and was roasting on a makeshift spit over a fire made from the leftovers of Kai's labors from the night before. While Haku turned the spit, Zabuza made his way over to Kai and his log before taking out a kunai and cutting several shallow marks across the bark's surface, each of which was about two feet from the next.

Once he finished, he straightened up and gestured to Kai, "Get to it kid, you know the drill." Indeed he did. He had learned 'the drill' on his first night camping with Zabuza and Haku. Any night they camped out, Kai was responsible for firewood, but not because his companions were unwilling to do it. It was actually a part of his training.

With another sigh, Kai pulled out a sealing scroll and summoned an ordinary woodcutting axe. Then, he moved to the end of the log before widening his stance and squaring his shoulders. With a light grunt, Kai heaved the plain axe over his head and, with pinpoint accuracy, into the log on the first mark Zabuza had cut. Easily pulling the axe head free, Kai repeated the motion again, and again, and again, and again. Woodcutting wasn't exactly what he had expected when he thought of his training with Zabuza, but as the Nin had said the first night when Kai had voiced his concerns, "You need to build up your upper-body strength, and why not be useful at the same time?"

And so Kai learned to hate the axe he now held. He had quickly found that Zabuza and Haku had prepared for any potential trickery he could come up with to skip out on the full extent, and 'benefit,' of his work/training. There was a special seal on the axe that prevented him from focusing his chakra through it so it could cut the logs easier, which effectively forced him to do it the regular way. There was no doubt that Kai was getting stronger because of this chore, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy it.

With a final grunt, Kai severed the first section of the log from the larger mass and gratefully allowed his arms to relax, his chest and shoulders now pleasantly burning from the exertion. Luckily, Zabuza didn't require him to split the sections into usable pieces too. The Jonin saw that he had finished the first section and stood up, drawing his blade from it's harness on his back as he walked over. Once he reached Kai, he nodded to the Chunin, signaling him to move on to the next section, and swiftly brought his blade down onto the log, piercing through it and splitting it cleanly in two. He repeated the motion with the two smaller halves and took the now easily manageable log quarters over to the side of the fire, where he set each piece around the flames to help them dry out a little before they would have to be burned while Kai resumed his chopping.

About an hour later, Kai was down to his last cut and his entire body was protesting any further movement. The rabbits had finished cooking about five minutes before, and his mouth had been watering for longer than that. The delicious smell of roasting meat had been wafting around their little clearing long enough to drive the hungry Chunin mad, but he had to finish his work. If he tried to stop and eat before the log was completely cut, Zabuza wouldn't let him eat anything at all. In fact, the one time Kai had tried to stop early, Zabuza had tied him to a tree and sat a few feet away while he ate Kai's share himself.

The Jonin was fond of saying it was training his resilience and resistance to hunger. Kai silently believed that Zabuza just liked tormenting him.

Finally, with one last agonizing swing, the last two sections were separated and Kai wearily rolled each of them over to the side of the fire where Zabuza quickly split them while Haku handed Kai his dinner. He stripped the cooked rabbit of anything edible fairly quickly, having built up a huge appetite from his 'training.'

Once they all finished, Haku took Kai aside and began the next part of his training. Haku had started by teaching Kai how to throw senbon, and was surprised to find that the Chunin picked up on it rather quickly. Once Kai was able to demonstrate a competent level of skill with the needles, he set Kai a set of target exercises to do every morning and devoted their evening work to the study of the human body, specifically pressure points.

What this amounted to was Haku demonstrating various pressure points by using them on Kai and then reversing the effects multiple times until Kai was able to find the point and its counter on his own. Eventually, once Kai showed enough skill with his senbon, Haku intended to teach him to hit each point with the needles, but that wouldn't happen for some time.

Tonight, the pressure point was one that would make the target's right arm go completely numb, making it temporarily useless. Every time Haku hit the point, Kai focused on where he had been hit. Once he had it firmly in mind, he would fix the new point to a mental 'map' he was creating in his mindscape for future reference.

"I was thinking," Zabuza said as Haku numbed Kai's arm for the fourth time that night, "if there are no jobs other than that stupid cat tomorrow, we'll go ahead and leave this area."

Haku paused for a moment before jabbing his finger into another point on Kai's upper arm, returning feeling to the limb, "I agree. There hasn't been nearly enough work around here and we're running out of money."

Kai grunted as he tried to massage feeling back into his arm, "So, where are we headed next?"

"South," Zabuza said, "I heard a rumor about a town just across the border into Fire Country that has been having some bandit troubles. It's supposed to be a fairly large band, so we won't be the only mercs there and we don't have to worry about not getting a cut of the pay." Zabuza paused for a moment and then chuckled, "But with the Demon of the Bloody Mist and the boy responsible for the Slaughter of Wave we may not need any backup at all."

Kai glanced over at Zabuza with a fierce glare. Even if the Jonin thought what had happened in Wave Country was great, Kai certainly didn't. He had lost control of himself, and if he hadn't passed out, he could have hurt his friends.

Haku patted him comfortingly on the shoulder, "Don't let him get to you Kai. It's just the way he is. Now, back to the lesson…" Kai jumped as Haku suddenly hit the pressure point again, sending his arm back into a numb oblivion.

----------

As it turned out, there were no other missions that day, besides the cat of course, so, after Kai ran through his regular morning exercises, the three Shinobi turned their eyes to the South, and started off just after noon. Kai quickly sank into the rhythm as he and Haku followed Zabuza who was picking their path through the tree branches, easily leaping around and somehow managing not to catch Kubikiri Houcho on any low hanging branches they passed through. By the time night fell again, they had come within a few miles of their destination.

"Alright you two," Zabuza said, holding up one hand, "let's camp here for the night."

"Why here Zabuza-sensei," Kai asked.

"We're far enough that any bandits in the area shouldn't find us, but close enough that if something happens we can get to the village in time to make a difference. That's the way you get bonuses." The Jonin gave Kai what would have been a sinister smile if he hadn't had the bandages wrapped around his mouth. Instead, all Kai could see was his eyes scrunch slightly, much like the way Kakashi's did when he smiled.

Kai exchanged a quick glance with Haku who rolled his eyes slightly before following Zabuza out of the trees. The young Chunin sighed as he followed his two sensei to a nearby clearing before pulling out a sealing scroll and summoning his sleeping bag and the extra firewood he had stored away. With a grunt, Kai moved a few of the logs into position between the three Shinobi's sleeping bags, and formed a quick chain of seals, "_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!_" Bringing his hand up to his mouth, Kai let only the smallest trickle of chakra flow through as he blew out, causing a fireball about the size of his fist to form and fly toward the logs, instantly making a roaring fire.

Zabuza shook his head in envy, "I really wish I could do that."

Kai looked at him, "There's no reason you can't Zabuza-sensei, you just have to learn."

Zabuza however, shook his head, "My chakra is water element kid, I can't use fire Jutsu like that without severely depleting my reserves and Haku's bloodline makes it impossible for him to use any Katon Jutsu at all."

"You have no idea how hard it was to get a fire going some nights after we left Wave Country," Haku whispered as Zabuza began busying himself with his bags, "especially in the rain… Although, it was funny seeing Zabuza-sama getting so frustrated when the wet wood wouldn't burn." Kai smiled, picturing the big man throwing a temper tantrum, before turning back to his sleeping bag.

----------

Zabuza had decided to let Kai skip his training for the night and his morning exercises, but in exchange, he made him take the first watch. That was how Kai found himself sitting with his back to the fire, staring out into the dark trees while Zabuza's deep snores echoed all around him.

He was bored. Very, very bored. The problem was, there wasn't much he could do to alleviate his boredom. He had vague thoughts of getting out his ocarina, which he had had precious little time to work with since he had gotten it, but he knew that the noise would wake up the two sleeping Shinobi. The same problem came up when he thought about running through his exercises. It would just make too much noise.

Kai sighed before mentally checking in with the four Kage Bunshin he had monitoring the perimeter from farther into the forest. He couldn't talk with them, but with a little effort, he could sense their emotions. None of them were feeling anything out of the ordinary. The single common element was that they were all bored, just like him.

Then, one of the clones blinked out from his mind and Kai heard a muffled curse from the woods to the north. Kai immediately jumped to his feet and leapt backwards over the fire, to land next to Zabuza. Just as he hit the ground, Kai felt a burning pain in his left arm and looked down to see his sleeve had been slashed open, revealing a shallow cut on his bicep that was bleeding sluggishly. He turned slightly and caught a glint of firelight off a crossbow bolt that was sticking out of a tree trunk behind him.

All thoughts of stealth now forgotten, Kai drew Reimeiken, and activated his Miraigan, "We're under attack!" Zabuza and Haku were immediately awake, and moments later, were on their feet with weapons in hand.

They were none too soon. Kai felt his remaining Kage Bunshin blink out of existence as dozens of shapes practically grew from the shadows around their camp, each of them with a bow or crossbow leveled on the three Shinobi. As these figures made their way into the clearing, each of them wearing black outfits consisting of pants, shirts, and boots, more figures began emerging behind them. These people carried swords, knives, and other sharp, pointy, and otherwise deadly close-range weapons.

"Hold your fire men!" a voice shouted out from the side Kai had been watching.

The three Shinobi instantly turned to face this new individual and saw a man in a suit. Instantly, Kai was reminded of Gato and his thugs in wave country, but this man was different. He actually looked like he could fight by doing more than sitting on someone and crushing them.

He stood about six feet tall, easily clearing Kai's own five foot four inches, and wore his plain black suit with an ease that did nothing to direct their attention away from the clearly defined muscles on his bare arms. "Well, well, well. I set a trap for mercenaries coming to 'deal' with me and my band, and I catch three Shinobi. What to do…"

"Kai,"

The Chunin's eyes widened until he realized Zabuza was talking over their headsets. He was suddenly glad that the Jonin had recommended they leave them on at all times.

"Yeah," Kai responded quietly, barely moving his lips so as to avoid alerting the numerous armed bandits around them.

"Are their any of your clones left?" Zabuza asked.

"No," Kai said with a slight sigh, "they destroyed them just before the emerged from the trees."

Zabuza cursed softly.

"I guess I'll just let my men kill you," The suit-wearing guy said, bringing Kai's attention back to him, "unless they want to keep that girl for… other purposes." Kai rolled his eyes while Haku sighed lightly as the bandits around them all laughed and gazed at Haku with a crazy look in their eyes. This wasn't the first time that Haku had been mistaken for a girl, not that Kai could blame them. Haku was very, very feminine.

"Alright you two," Zabuza said over their headsets again, "we'll just have to play it as it comes for now. Just stay on your toes."

"I'll leave these…individuals in your capable hands men, don't take too long," with that, the suit-wearing man left, turning sharply and disappearing into the trees.

"Alright maggots," another man stepped up, this one clearly an officer of some kind, "this is the way it's going to work. You remove all your weapons and place them on the ground and we might just let you leave peacefully."

"Bullshit," Zabuza said loudly, placing his right hand on the hilt of Kubikiri Houcho, "we both know that you have no intention of letting us leave. Let's just fight and get it over with."

The man chuckled, "You really think I'm that stupid? The boss might not have recognized you, but I spent too much time looking through the Bingo books not to recognize Momochi Zabuza and Haku. Sure there's no longer a price on you heads legally, but that doesn't mean there aren't a few crime lords who are after you."

Zabuza smiled wickedly, "So, the secrets out then, huh? Then I guess you're not even going to give us a chance to fight back are you?"

The bandit smiled back, "Oh now that wouldn't be fair would it. I would much rather be known as the bandit captain who was responsible for the death of Momochi Zabuza instead of his slaughter. How about this, I'll let one of you use one Jutsu to start this off. How about the boy in black," Kai jumped slightly at this, something which seemed to amuse the bandit to no end, "yes, him. You can use one Jutsu, just make sure you don't waste it boy."

Kai immediately tried to make himself as unimpressive as possible as his mind raced. It was entirely possible that this guy thought that he was less of a threat since he was the youngest and smallest of the tree Shinobi. While he was the weakest of the three, especially after a day of travel and several hours on watch, he definitely wasn't out of tricks yet. Kai paused for a moment with a thoughtful look on his face while he gathered a good portion of his remaining chakra. Then, he lifted his left hand straight up in the air while holding his right hand in front of his face, both forming a half-tiger seal, "_Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu!_"

As Kai released the chakra he had been molding, a heavy mist rolled into the area, almost instantly obscuring the archer's view of the Shinobi. Too late did the bandit captain realize what his arrogance had caused, "FIRE! FIRE DAMMIT!" The archers released their arrows with multiple twangs from their weapons followed by several screams, but they were the screams of their comrades as they fell to friendly fire from across the clearing.

"Nice choice Kai," Zabuza said over their headsets, "now, let's finish the act."

As one, Zabuza and Kai began speaking, their voices echoing together across the clearing and throughout the nearby woods, "Eight points: larynx, spine, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidneys, heart; now, which vital spot should I attack?"

Kai was silently leaping from tree branch to tree branch, using chakra to enhance his hearing and eyesight so he could navigate and to soften his landing so the bandits wouldn't notice him as he spoke in tandem with his sensei. The Silent Killing Technique was one of the first things Zabuza had tried to teach him. While the Jutsu portion of the move took him a little time, once he got it down, the sword work was easy, especially when put together with Haku's anatomy lessons.

Once he finished the taunt, Kai picked a target and angled his jump so he landed behind the man without being detected. Moving swiftly, Kai drew out Reimeiken with a silent hiss and drove the point into the man's back, just below his neck. He only let the blade pierce far enough to sever his spinal cord before drawing it back out and moving on to his next target.

He proceeded like this for the next several seconds, while Zabuza did the same on the opposite side of the clearing. Finally, Kai heard Zabuza give the all clear and he released the mist before collapsing beside their still burning campfire in relief. He had used almost all of his chakra in the counterattack and now he found it difficult to stand.

"Good work kid," Zabuza said as he dropped down on the other side of the fire, "you saved our skins with that Jutsu."

Kai smiled before another wave of fatigue hit him, "It was nothing Zabuza-sensei."

"No," Haku said, walking into the circle of firelight as he tucked away a few senbon into his hip pouch, "you really did save us, and that is not something you can just brush off like it's nothing."

Kai shook his head, "Whatever. The only thing I'm worried about right now is that boss guy. He could end up being trouble for us when he finds out that his men are all dead."

Zabuza looked to Haku for a moment, silently asking for confirmation. The boy nodded, "A few got away, but I took them out before they got too far."

"So we have a little time then. I guess we'll just have to head into town sooner than we'd planned, tonight if possible," Zabuza said, looking thoughtfully into the dancing flames before him, "That way, we can bring the townsfolk word of the bandits and maybe get a job offer right away."

Kai smiled sheepishly, "One problem with that Zabuza-sensei: I don't think I can even crawl to my sleeping bag, much less make it to the village."

Zabuza turned toward Haku who nodded and began rolling up his bedroll before moving on to Kai's and sealing both away. While Kai watched the other boy with a confused look on his face, Zabuza moved around behind him and suddenly grabbed the Chunin around his waist. "I'll just have to carry you then," Zabuza said as he hefted Kai's flailing body over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. With a laugh, the Jonin started off into the woods with Haku following silently behind him, smiling as Kai gave up his struggling as a lost cause.

----------

At some point during the trip through the forest, Kai's exhausted body finally gave out. When he woke again, it was to find himself lying in a bed with moonlight shining through the window.

"Finally awake I see,"

Kai rolled over in bed to see Haku standing in the doorway, smiling at him with humor in his eyes. "Apparently," Kai yawned, "how long was I out?"

"You slept through the entire day," the boy responded as he came further into the room, "but we have more important things to discuss at the moment. We have a job."

Kai was immediately fully awake and gave Haku his full attention, but his face fell when he heard Haku's next words, "Or rather… you have a mission… an assassination."

Kai swallowed nervously. He had been dreading this day, but he knew it would come eventually. Moving slowly, Kai extracted himself from the blankets over him and followed Haku out of his room and down the stairs into what appeared to be an inn common room.

"Kai," Zabuza said loudly, waving the two boys over to his table where he was speaking with an overweight man in a worn suit, "I would like you to meet our employer, Hachi-san, the mayor of this village."

Hachi looked at Kai with confusion written across his face, "Zabuza-san, surely you don't expect me to believe that this boy is the assassin you spoke of."

When the rotund man turned his attention back to Zabuza, Haku leaned toward Kai and whispered, "Now is the time to show off a little. Prove to him that you do have the required skills, but don't hurt him. We're shooting to impress, but you can scare him a little to get your point across."

Kai nodded and smiled lightly before jumping straight up into the air, flipping around so his feet hit the ceiling lightly where he used his chakra to stick in place. Hachi must have seen him move out of the corner of his eye because he quickly jerked around to stare at the spot he had been standing in.

Up on the ceiling, Kai quickly formed a chain of seals, "_Meisaigakure no Jutsu_," and vanished from sight. He wasn't a moment too soon either as Hachi immediately swept his eyes up to the ceiling and past where Kai was hiding before scanning the rest of the room.

He turned back to Zabuza with a smirk, "Did I make your little boy cry Zabuza-san? Did he run back to his room? What game are you trying to play; passing that that boy off as an assassin? I would have a better chance at killing the bandit leader than that kid."

While Hachi spoke, Kai summoned his bow and nocked an arrow in place before drawing it slowly to avoid making any noise. Then, once the bow was drawn back, Kai focused the smallest bit of chakra into the arrowhead, giving it a light glow before he sighted along it and waited for the perfect moment to fire.

Finally, it came. Just as Hachi was reaching for his sake, Kai released the arrow. The projectile covered the short distance in a fraction of a second and struck the center of Hachi's sake saucer. On impact, the small point of chakra gave the arrow enough enhanced penetrating force to put just the tip of the head through the delicate dish without shattering it and keeping the arrow's kinetic energy from sending it any further.

The mayor was stunned. One second he was reaching for his sake, and the next there was an arrow in the center of his dish, neatly pinning it to the table without spilling any of the alcohol contained within.

Kai silently sealed his bow again and released his hold on the ceiling and his invisibility Jutsu before landing with a light thump right behind the man. Hachi nervously turned around in his seat to find himself face to scarred face with the boy he had just insulted.

"I trust I have alleviated any doubt as to my skills Hachi-san?" Kai asked in an innocent voice.

The man swallowed nervously and nodded before turning back to Zabuza, "I agree with your terms."

"Excellent, then we need to go prepare. Come on you two," With that said, Zabuza rose from the table and started up the stairway to their rooms in the Inn. Haku bowed slightly and followed after him.

Kai stepped around Hachi and reached out before lightly jerking his arrow free from the saucer, "Have a nice night Hachi-san." Before the man could say anything, Kai was up the stairs as well.

Hachi could do nothing but watch as his sake drained out of the hole in the bottom of the saucer and spread out over the table.

----------

"Are you sure you can do this Kai?" Zabuza asked sternly, "I put a lot on the line with this mission. If you don't think you can, just tell me and we can come up with another plan. We can't afford a botched mission this early in our mercenary careers."

Kai was currently sitting cross-legged on his bed, waiting for Zabuza to finish talking, "I've done it before Zabuza-sensei. All it takes is a little concentration and meditation and I'll be ready. Just trust me alright." Kai smiled before closing his eyes and entering his mindscape, becoming deaf to the rest of the world.

"Do you really think he can do it Zabuza-sama?" Haku asked once he saw Kai was out.

The Jonin sighed, "I certainly hope so…"

----------

Kai appeared in the room in his mindscape and immediately walked out into the darkness beyond it. In his training with his mother, Kai had been taught how to kill his heart. What that basically meant was that he would remove himself from his emotions. Make it so he would not feel guilt or sadness after an assassination.

Essentially, he created a split personality for himself.

All it took was a trip to his mindscape and he could call on that personality. He was still in full control of his actions; he just didn't _feel_ anything. Separating himself from the job was the only way for person like Kai to survive as an assassin without going insane with guilt and grief.

He stepped into the black expanse of his mindscape and reached out, calling to his alternate persona. And it came. With an ease that can only come from practice, Kai accepted the numbness as it spread into his being. He let it in and immediately felt part of the world melt away.

Nothing mattered but the job right now. He had friends, but they were just people he knew he could count on in a tough situation. He knew that Hachi had been rude to him before, but it didn't matter. He had no doubts. He had no fears. He was ready.

----------

Haku was watching Kai with bated breath. The Chunin had been meditating for about five minutes and the older boy was getting a little worried.

"Do you think something went wrong Zabuza-sama?" Haku asked hesitantly, genuinely concerned for Kai's safety.

Zabuza shook his head from across the room where he was leaning against the wall, "His mother said something like this would happen. It should get easier for him the more he does it. It's nothing you haven't been willing to do; Kai just takes it a few steps further."

"How so?"

"You are willing to kill your heart in battle to do what must be done, right?"

"Hai."

"When you do that, you are deadening your emotions. Because of Kai's training with his mother, he can literally block his emotions until he finishes a job, it just takes a little longer for him to get there. Once he has had a little more practice, it shouldn't take as long."

Suddenly Kai's eyes shot open, instantly bringing Haku's attention back to the scared Chunin. Kai slowly unfolded his legs from his sitting position on the bed and stood up. He glanced around the room, taking in Zabuza and Haku before nodding, "I'm ready."

Haku had to supress a light shudder at the lack of emotion in Kai's normally energetic voice.

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AN: Kubikiri Houcho translates to "Head Chopping Cleaver."

I know there are a few Naruto fans who will swear on their lives that Haku is a girl, but he isn't. I agree with most of you in saying that he should be, but he isn't. Instead, he is made out to be a very girly man. Sorry, but that's the way it is in cannon and so that's the way it will be in this fic.

Just to clear things up, Kai doesn't become 'evil' when he deadens his emotions. It's more like a defense mechanism. For someone like Kai, killing people who were trying to attack him would be hard enough until he got used to it, just like with all Shinobi. But as an assassin, Kai may end up having to kill people who aren't attacking him, and who might not even know he's there. Some of his targets could even be civilians. For a person like Kai, that would be hard to deal with. He would be tormented by his guild no matter what he did.

To deal with this, he created his split personality with the help of his mother to help him deal with it. Essentially it lets him block his emotions for however long he wants too. He is still in full control of his actions, but he doesn't feel any emotion that he would normally have to deal with.

Jutsu List:

_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu:_ Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

_Kage Bunshin:_ Shadow Clone

_Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu: _Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique

_Meisaigakure no Jutsu_: Hiding Camouflage Technique

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review, and if you have any questions, you can include them in the review so I'll have something else to write about in the next chapter.

Oh, and the appearance of an old character won't be until the end of the next chapter or the chapter after that : )


	10. Chapter 10

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Chapter 10

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Disclaimer: I don't own Narutof

Response to Reviewers:

Silvershadowbreeze: I try to work in a little humor every once in a while, the problem is, it doesn't always work, lol.

shelvesinthecloset: Thanks for giving my fic a chance :) Its always great to get a new reviewer (which is why this chapter is a week and a half early). After the next chapter, there will be a timeskip and then another timeskip a few chapters after that. Basically that will take the story past the Cannon three year timeskip and put me in prime place to bring Kai back to Konoha then. I would estimate another three or four chapter before it gets there though.

AN: Kai's assassination mission begins…

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With a sigh, Kai finished putting on the last of his new outfit. There really wasn't much difference from his normal outfit, just a set of light metal greaves and bracers with fingerless gloves with metal plates on the back like Kakashi's and a long scarf that he wrapped around his head so that it covered everything but his eyes while the excess was bunched up around his neck while the ends hung free for about three feet behind him. As far as color went, everything was some shade of dark grey, the metal plates slightly darker than the cloth of the scarf and gloves.

Zabuza looked on approvingly, "Maybe you should just wear this all the time Kai, it looks a lot cooler than your other outfit."

The Chunin looked over at his sensei, "I need something to make me look different from when I'm not on a job, and please don't call me Kai. Kaa-san told me that when I'm getting ready for a mission and while I'm on my mission I should go by a different name to help keep everything separate."

Haku, still slightly uneasy about the obvious difference in the Chunin's voice after he deadened his emotions, spoke up, "Then what should we call you?"

"Kaa-san gave me a name before we left," he responded before swinging Reimeiken around his back and strapping it in place, completing his preparations, "I am Kagetaka."

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"WHAT!" Shin screamed at the man standing before him, "Say that again!"

The bandit cringed before his boss, "The scouts went back to the clearing where you caught the Shinobi the other night and they found the dead bodies off all the men you left there. The Shinobi were nowhere to be found."

"DAMMIT!" Shin shouted once more, "I want all security around the camp doubled! Whenever a group gets back from a raid, I want all of them checked out by the dogs. I don't want any more mistakes!"

"Sir!" the man snapped to attention before turning and running back out of the tent to implement Shin's orders.

The bandit leader growled. He should have known better than to leave those Shinobi to someone else. He should have seen to their death himself. But hind sight is always perfect… With a sigh, he slumped into a lightweight chair behind his foldable desk. He would just have to keep his eyes open for any danger. Any Shinobi trying to get to him would end up with a hell of a fight on their hands if he had anything to say about it.

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Slipping silently through the treetops, Kagetaka moved ever closer to his target. This job should serve nicely as a way to work his way into the business. It was doubtful that a bunch of bandits would be able to detect him, much less stand a chance against him in an open fight. And since he would have the element of surprise, it should be a slaughter.

But that wasn't his objective. Apparently, the village already had a militia that was large enough to be able to take care of the regular bandits. The reason they hadn't already was because of the leader, Shin. He had apparently been an Iwa Shinobi before he became a missing Nin, but it wasn't his skills that made him dangerous. In fact, Shin had never gotten past the rank of Genin.

According to the mayor and the Bingo Book, he had a low chakra capacity and his control was only a little over average. The thing that made Shin a real threat was his mind. He was a tactical genius and was able to use his limited skills to the greatest effect, which lead him to look down upon those who had more natural skill than he did but still fell to him. He eventually began to openly scorn everyone, especially those who had more than him, and started using his skills to kidnap and torture multiple civilians in Iwa. He took a sadistic pleasure from the act but, after several months, he made a critical mistake and one of his captives got away.

Shin was forced to flee or face execution in Iwa for his crimes. That was ten years ago. Once the man had escaped from Iwa, he immediately began recruiting other outcasts from all walks of life to form his army in order to one day return to Iwa and get revenge on those who chased him out. This was the man Kagetaka had been hired to kill.

He had left the village an hour ago, traveling by the light of the waning moon above him. He still had several hours before the sun rose, but that didn't mean he was going to take any more time than absolutely necessary. Kagetaka may not have cared about what he was about to do, but deep in his heart, Kai still knew that he was about to kill someone, and that bit of knowledge got to him through all the mental armor he wore.

Ushina had told him it would be like this the first few times, until he got used to using his persona as Kagetaka. Then he wouldn't be bothered by it enough for him to notice while he was on a mission. He would know what he was doing, and it might disturb him once he dropped the persona, but not enough to drive him insane which is what might end up happening without the persona or some major psychological work.

Then, as he landed in a particularly large tree, he heard the first signs of people. On the ground ten feet below him, a bandit, obviously a sentry, walked his route. The assassin shook his head at the man's stupidity. Shin had to know that someone would be coming after him soon. So why did he put morons on sentry duty who didn't know to look up into the trees while patrolling?

Oh well, he knew better than to complain about something that would only make his job easier. Silently, Kagetaka leaped away further toward the camp, leaving the oblivious sentry behind.

----------

Shin was getting paranoid. The Shinobi would be coming for him soon. And not just any Shinobi either. Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist was coming for him. He may not have said anything when he met them, but Shin had recognized the former missing Nin immediately. He had actually spent some time trying to find a recruit the Jonin, but had never been able to track him down.

How ironic that he only ran across the Jonin when the man no longer had any reason to want to work for him. Many of his recruits were people who hadn't had anything but the clothes they wore, which was why they usually accepted his offers of food and shelter immediately. But he was getting off track.

If Shin's info on Zabuza was correct, which it always was, then the Jonin would probably just attack head on, most likely under the cover of his _Kirigakure no Jutsu_, and slaughter his way to Shin's tent. Well, the man had quite the surprise in place for the Jonin when he reached the bandit leader's tent.

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Kagetaka sighed. The security was tighter than he had though. It seemed that Shin actually had suspected that someone would be coming after him. Kai was in a tree near the far side of the bandit camp in relation to the village. The camp itself had been situated with dense forest all around it with a wooden wall on the tree line for a little extra defense. Shin's tent was placed near the back end, almost completely surrounded by guards and there were no lights inside to let him pinpoint a shadow to hit with his bow.

The Chunin smirked a little. It looked like Shin's tent was too well protected for him to get too. That meant it was time for some Zabuza tactics…

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A man burst into Shin's tent, "Boss!"

Immediately the bandit leader was on his feet, ready for battle, "What is it!"

"You ordered to be informed immediately if anything strange started happening," the man panted, "One of the guards at the main gate just reported a heavy bank of fog rolling in!"

Shin smirked as he sat back down, "Wait two minutes and then release the attack dogs by the main gate."

The man paled slightly but quickly nodded his head, "Sir!" With that, he ran out, leaving Shin to smile at his own genius.

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Kagetaka knelt on a wide branch in a tree just outside the main gate, watching as the guards changed. He had hoped he wouldn't have to wait too long for this to happen and, lucky for him, he had made it back around the camp just in time. Now that the guards were switching, they would be a little more relaxed and therefore easier to kill.

Immediately, Kagetaka's eyes hardened. The stalk was over, now the real mission began. He lifted his left hand into the air while holding his right in front of his face, each in a half-tiger seal, "_Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu!_" he whispered, releasing a small trickle of chakra that began pulling in a light mist, which steadily began gathering over the area.

Then, just before the mist was thick enough for Kagetaka to act, one of the guards noticed. "Strange," the guard said to his comrade, "the mist is unusually thick…"

"The boss left orders to be informed if anything strange happened… We'd better send word."

The assassin cursed to himself. Before long, the entire camp would know that there was a Shinobi nearby. It was just his luck that one of the new guards was an observant one. Sighing, Kagetaka put the matter aside. He would just have to deal with it and get on with the mission.

Silently dropping from the tree, Kagetaka slowly crept forward, kunai in hand, toward the gate and the guards nearby.

"So why do you think the boss is so on edge," the first guard said, "I thought we had a solid grip on this area."

"Who knows," the second replied, "but I heard that he cornered a bunch of Shinobi with squad four and now they've gone missing."

"You don't think…"

"I don't know what else it could be."

"Those bastards! They used the Shinobi excuse to take an early vacation! And the boss is letting them! I knew he favored squad four over us!"

Kagetaka almost facefaulted. Quickly recovering, he decided it was time to put this moron out of his misery.

"They didn't go on vacation you idiot," the second guard said, "they were up against Shinobi. Which means they're probably dead."

"Really…?"

"Yeah, really."

Kagetaka took this opportunity to slip behind the first guard and slit his throat, killing him silently, before he lowered the body to the ground without a sound.

"Frank?" Keeping silent and moving slowly and smoothly as he had been taught so as not to disturb the mist, the assassin then slipped around behind the second guard and raised his blade again.

"Frank, what happened? Are you alriggggg." Kagetaka smoothly sliced his neck open as well and lowered his body before dragging both off to the side. They wouldn't be discovered until the mist dispersed, which wouldn't happen until sunrise at the earliest.

Then, he heard a sound. It started off as a low whine and then grew as whatever was making the noise got closer. Then, once the sound became clear through the distorting influence of the mist, he realized what it was: the howling and barking of dogs.

Cursing silently, Kagetaka drew Reimeiken. He wouldn't be able to avoid the animals in the mist, since they had most likely been trained to find their prey through sight _and_ scent, and the mist wouldn't disguise his smell. In fact, the mist wouldn't do anything more than hurt him at this point.

Sighing again, he released the Jutsu and let the mist blow away as he activated his bloodline. He gulped as he saw the size of the dogs running toward him. The biggest was easily four feet tall at the shoulder and they were all about five feet from nose to tail. Each of them had heads that seemed a little too big for their bodies but contained a fearsome mouth of teeth. It was clear that these were some kind of crazy crossbreed made only for fighting.

Thinking quickly, Kagetaka focused his chakra and shifted his weapon into the Suiton Reimeiken. Then, with another burst of chakra, he began spinning it before flinging it toward the oncoming canines. There were five of them in all, but he was hoping to take out a few of them before they got too close.

Even though he was detached from his emotions, Kagetaka still felt a little guilty about killing the dogs. They were just doing what they were trained for. But all his doubts disappeared when his weapon sliced through the lead dog's legs, cleanly cutting all four out from under the beast. From each of the wounds, blood that looked like black sludge pulsed out while the dog continued to try and get to him, worming its slowly dying body closer as its fellows ran around it.

These weren't dogs, they were monsters. Whoever had created them had to be a sick and twisted individual. With a thought, Kagetaka sent the Reimeiken Shuriken into the wounded animal's skull, putting it out of its misery, before calling the weapon back to him again. He caught the spinning blade and shifted it back to its katana form just as the first of the animals reached him.

The dog leapt at him with a tremendous bark, really more of a roar, that would have made a lesser Shinobi faint. Swiftly sidestepping the beast, Kagetaka brought Reimeiken down upon it, severing its head before spinning with the cut, pulling the blade around him and then up to cut through the bottom of the next dog's skull just as it reached him.

He was forced to jump into the air to avoid the dog's sliding corpse which left him unable to react when his Miraigan warned him of an imminent attack to his left side. Shortly after the warning, pain erupted as a crossbow bolt imbedded itself into his left arm, just below the shoulder. The Chunin screamed in pain as he landed and swiftly brought his blade around to disembowel another of the dogs that had attempted to come after him, wincing again as the force required to swing the blade put extra strain on his wounded arm.

With a flick of his wrist and a tiny pulse of chakra, Kagetaka flipped all the blood off of his blade before re-sheathing it and withdrawing a pair of tagged shuriken from his weapon pouch. Then, he heard another booming bark as the final dog charged him from behind, furious that its pack mates had all been killed by this human. Kagetaka flung the two shuriken at the dog, sending them right into the animal's skull before forming a few one-handed signs, "_Jibaku Fuda: Kassei!_" Instantly, the small exploding tags on the shuriken exploded, taking the dog's head with them.

Kagetaka winced once again as the strain hit his shoulder, but he knew he couldn't stop to take care of it yet. As if confirming his own thoughts, his Miraigan warned him once again and he twisted out of the way just in time to dodge another crossbow bolt, this one aimed at his head. He spun around while pulling out another shuriken and scanned the area for the archer. He found the bandit crouched in a watchtower near the gate. The man wasn't paying attention as he frantically tried to reload his weapon. Kagetaka threw his shuriken just as he shouted, "HEY!" Just as he had expected, the bandit looked up, exposing his neck just enough for the shuriken to tear through it, ending the man's life.

Finally given a little breathing room, Kagetaka immediately ran for the shadows of the wall before reaching up with his right hand and grasped the crossbow bolt sticking out of his left arm. He sent a small pulse of chakra through the projectile and found that it was a simple, smooth bladed head. Gritting his teeth, the Shinobi slowly eased the bolt from his arm and dropped it to the ground before quickly slapping his hand over the freely bleeding wound, applying a little chakra to help speed up his healing.

Once the blood stopped flowing, Kagetaka drew Reimeiken again. His arm was weak, but he was still more than capable of finishing the mission. In a matter of seconds, he had sprinted out of the shadows to the relative cover of the maze of tents that made up the bulk of the camp and started weaving his way toward the back where he knew Shin's command tent was.

Finally, after several minutes of tense travel, he caught sight of the large tent. It was on one end of a clearing filled with newly lit torches, and Shin stood in front of it wearing a plain pair of black pants with a weapon pouch on his belt and a white shirt stretched over his muscled torso. This suited Kagetaka just fine. His original plan had been to shoot him through the tent wall with his bow, but with his left arm weakened, he wouldn't be able to use it.

"Come on out Zabuza," Shin shouted, "I know you're nearby."

Kagetaka nearly laughed, this man thought it was Zabuza who had come after him. It looked like his mist tactic at the front gate had worked better than he could have hoped. It was just too bad he couldn't use the Doton Reimeiken properly yet or he could keep up the illusion a little longer.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you a little disappointed," Kagetaka said as he stepped into the ring of light left by the torches, "but there is no Zabuza here."

Shin was confused for a moment by the newcomer's outfit before his eyes widened in realization, "You're that kid; the one who was with Zabuza the other day!"

"I," he said as he lowered himself into a basic Kenjutsu stance, "am Kagetaka!"

Before Shin could react, the Assassin had closed the distance between them and was swiftly bringing his blade around to behead the muscular man. Shin was ready for this however, as he quickly brought his right hand up to block the blade with the kunai he was holding, "It won't be that easy, boy!"

With a heave, Shin pushed Kai off balance and kicked him in the stomach, making him stumble back into the center of the circle. "Hold him!" the bandit leader shouted. Almost immediately, dozens of bandits came running from the shadows around the clearing to surround Kai. The men stood around him, about six feet away on each side, with their various weapons held before them, obviously planning to keep the boy from escaping until their boss was through ranting.

"You know boy," Shin said slowly, "I am honestly surprised to see that your not Zabuza, and it's not just because of the mist. I was told that those dogs would be able to take out any threat short of a small army or a powerful or resourceful Shinobi, but judging from the situation that we're in now, I guess Orochimaru didn't know what he was talking about."

Kagetaka froze for a moment. This man had dealt with Orochimaru. Then he might have had dealings with Hito as well. Scowling, the Shinobi settled himself into a defensive stance, holding his blade out before him while extending his senses to help him detect the bandits around him. This guy was going down.

"Are you sure you want to fight?" Shin mocked, "There are alternatives you know."

Kagetaka rolled his eyes, although Shin couldn't tell from his distance, "Like?"

Shin smirked, "You could join me. With your skills I could rule the fire country within the year. After that, the world is ripe for the picking."

Kagetaka nearly facefaulted, "Don't you have aspirations a little high for someone of your skill level? You never made it past Genin rank. There's nothing wrong with that, but there are things you simply cannot learn until you have the qualifications required to pass the tests to make it to a higher rank. The first time you fought against a real Jonin, or another high level Shinobi, you would be annihilated."

Shin's face began to turn red, whether from anger or embarrassment Kagetaka couldn't tell, "So, that's how it's going to be then… KILL HIM!"

With a collective cry, the bandits all charged forward stabbing and slashing at the surrounded Shinobi, only for him to jump straight up into the air as he sheathed his blade. Quickly, he formed a chain of seals, "_Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!_" He took a deep breath and brought his right hand up to his masked mouth, releasing his chakra in a steady stream that sent out numerous fireballs toward the shocked bandits below.

Now came the tricky part of the mission. He had to kill the target while leaving behind some witnesses so that they could spread the word and get his name out into the world. If no one knew who he was, then no one would know that they could hire him, which kind of defeated the purpose of being an Assassin for Hire. As he fell through the air, Kagetaka drew Reimeiken once more and shifted it to its Raiton form.

He hit the ground lightly, managing not to land on the smoldering and moaning bodies of the bandits who had been caught in his Jutsu, and looked at what was left. There were about fifteen more men, a few of which had gotten singed by the fire but not enough to leave them incapacitated. He smiled as he began focusing chakra to his blades, this would be fun.

The first man charged from behind him, screaming madly with rage in his eyes. Kagetaka easily brought his weapon around and batted the man's spear up and away with the back side of the blade before kicking the bandit in his knee as he sidestepped him, shattering the idiot's kneecap in the process.

He went down screaming, but that only seemed to irritate the others even more. After a few more seconds, three more bandits charged in, brandishing their swords wildly, which only served to demonstrate that they had no idea how to use them. These men were not worth the beaten up weapons they carried when it came to a real fight. They were probably just a bunch of runaways that were only suited for cannon fodder. This only meant they would make perfect messengers to spread his name. All he had to do was scare them enough to make them think twice about attacking him.

Kagetaka smiled sinisterly as the three bandits came into range. Moving with the speed and grace that can only be obtained by mastering the weapon you use, he dashed forward and skewered the first man on one end of his blade before jerking it up, cleanly cutting through his body and coming out beside his neck. The now dead body swayed for a moment before splitting down the middle and slumping to the ground. The other two bandits tried to get away, but he was upon them too quickly. With another pair of quick slashes, they were beheaded in a crimson fountain that left the other bandits speechless.

"Who's next?" Kagetaka asked in a dark voice that left the bandits frozen.

"What are you waiting for," Shin screamed, "get him!"

The bandits didn't move. Not that Kagetaka could blame them. Zabuza had been teaching him how to release more intense bursts of killing intent, and he was currently putting out as much as he could, effectively paralyzing the bandits with fear. The only problem was that he had a limited range at this intensity, so Shin couldn't feel it.

"Why don't you try fighting your own battles Shin," Kagetaka taunted, turning to face the man once again, "that is unless you're too scared."

Shin's face twisted into a mask of rage, "You stupid brat! I'll kill you for that!"

Before Kagetaka could react, Shin had dashed up to him using speed beyond that of a plain Genin and kicked him solidly in the stomach, sending him to his back and making him lose his grip on Reimeiken. He watched helplessly as his weapon slid away from him, slowly shifting back to its regular form.

"Not so tough now are you punk!" Shin screamed as he began raining blows down on the grounded Chunin, "I'm invincible!"

Kagetaka was just starting to think that this man was a little off his rocker, which could in fact explain his extra boost of strength, when an arrow suddenly sprouted from Shin's neck, sending out a light spray of blood that spattered all over the downed Chunin. Shin swayed for a moment before another arrow suddenly stuck out of his chest, having pierced completely through his back. The large man started to fall forward, forcing Kagetaka to roll out of the way, wincing as he did when his newly formed bruises hit the ground.

Then, a figure detached itself from the shadows around the clearing. As he came into the light, the bandits gasped seeing a Shinobi that looked identical to the one who had fought Shin only this one was holding a bow in his right hand.

"I could have taken him," said the first Kagetaka.

"Uh huh," said the second as he sealed away his bow, "and that's why you were lying on the ground having the living crap beat out of you."

"Shut up," the first grumbled.

"Alright," the second said, holding up his hand, "time to tag out." The two Shinobi grasped hands and there was a blinding flash of light. When the bandits could see again, there was now only one copy of the assassin.

Kagetaka turned toward the bandits who had gathered together across the clearing. Smirking, he started toward them, making several flee in terror, before stopping about ten feet away and picking up Reimeiken and walked over to Shin's corpse. With a single swipe of his blade, Shin's head was severed cleanly before the Shinobi bent down and sealed it into a scroll he produced from his hip pouch.

After flipping the blood off his blade and sheathing it again, Kagetaka looked toward the remaining bandits, "Remember this and spread the word. This night, Kagetaka, Assassin-for-Hire, has taken his prey." With that, he turned and calmly walked into the shadows around the clearing. He knew the line might have been a little cheesy, but by the time it got to any towns, the men would have expanded it until Kagetaka had taken out Shin and twelve other Jonin level Shinobi single-handedly. Everything was working out very well.

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Kai was worn out. He had dropped his Kagetaka persona as soon as he got out of the camp so he would be able to focus better. Muffling his emotions was fine during missions, but it tended to bother him a little when he was just traveling since he had nothing to focus on other than the little things. Like the lack of emotion and the many small bruises left over from his Karada Bunshin getting beat on.

He had used the Jutsu before he reached the front gate and started his assault. Turns out the tactic had been another smart choice. If he hadn't taken that precaution, then the fight might have gotten messier than a few blood-spots. If that had happened he might not have made it out of there alive.

The trip back to the village took a lot less time than the trip to the bandit camp. It could have been the slight adrenaline boost he had from the fight. It could have been that he just wanted to get away from that place as fast as possible. Or it could have just been that Kai wasn't paying much attention to the passage of time. He was too busy marveling over how well his mother's emotion suppression technique had worked. He hadn't honestly expected it but he really didn't feel any emotional attachment to what he had just done, even when he replayed it in his head.

It was with a sort of mild surprise that Kai found himself reaching the edge of the village as the sun rose. He left the treetops and took a more leisurely pace as he walked into the shelter of the houses that surrounded the square in the center of the small town.

"Kai!" Zabuza shouted as he and Haku spotted the boy and jogged toward him, "or is it Kagetaka?"

Kai smiled weakly, "Just Kai now Zabuza-sensei."

"How did it go?" Haku asked, concern showing in his face.

Kai tossed Zabuza the scroll with Shin's head, "Target eliminated and I managed to get my name out. I left a few bandits alive, although not until I made sure they were absolutely petrified of me. Most of them were just regular people who must have fallen on hard times and joined Shin's band for the sake of the money so it wasn't really difficult to intimidate them."

Zabuza nodded, a smile showing in his eyes, "Good work, anything else to report?"

Kai though for a moment before nodding, "I had to kill some weird, mutated dog… things. Shin said they came from Orochimaru."

Zabuza nodded again, "Alright kid, you need to get some rest. I can tell your about to collapse."

Kai sighed, "You're telling me."

"Come on Kai," Haku said with a smile, "I'll take you back to your room while Zabuza-sama informs the mayor. You've earned your rest."

Kai smiled his thanks and followed the Ice Shinobi back toward his hotel room, his thoughts running wild the entire time. Before he realized it, Kai was gratefully climbing into his bed, and passed out before his head even hit the pillow.

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Kai woke with a gasp. He had been reliving his mission in his dreams and it had severely unnerved him. There seemed to be disadvantages to not feeling anything just the same as there were for feeling everything. On one hand, he could be disabled by the haunting memories of what he had done, but on the other he was unnerved by his lack of emotion to the same memories.

Getting up, Kai dusted his clothes off before making up his mind and changing into a new outfit, re-sealing his scarf, gloves, bracers, and greaves into his personal sealing scroll before he made his way down to the lobby of the hotel.

He immediately spotted Zabuza and Haku and made his way over to them, "Hey guys."

Zabuza had a huge smile on his face, "Feeling better Kid?"

Kai sighed, "Not really. I just wanted to let you know I'm going out for some fresh air. This whole lack of emotions thing is a little more unnerving than you would think."

Haku frowned, "But Kai, some of the bandits may be after you for killing Shin…"

Kai smiled, "But Haku, I didn't kill him, Kagetaka did, and he and I are two completely different people."

The boy blinked before smiling, "Right, sorry about that, it's going to take some getting used to.

Kai waved it off, "Tell me about it… I'll see you two later." Kai turned and walked out of the hotel and picked a direction at random before starting off.

Ten minutes later, he was completely surrounded by trees. He picked an older looking tree end easily jumped into the branches landing on one large enough of hold his weight and sitting with his back resting against the trunk while one leg hung off lazily.

He had a lot to deal with. He had to find a way to get over the shock of his mission. It was weird though. Out of all the things that he had thought of as fallout for his first job, he never thought that the biggest problem would have come from the technique his own mother had taught him to make it easier.

Kai sighed. His life just couldn't be simple could it?

Suddenly, Kai picked up a fast moving chakra source. He jerked his head around and followed it with his eyes. It was pretty far away, but that didn't mean that it wasn't dangerous. Making up his mind, Kai climbed back to his feet. Maybe all he needed was a bit of exertion…

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Kai had been traveling toward the chakra signal for a few minutes now. He wasn't traveling at his full speed because he didn't want to alert whoever he was following before he got close enough to observe him. It would be very bad, for instance, if he were to come across an ANBU or Hunter Nin who had seen his picture in the Bingo book and would jump at the chance to bring him back into the grip of Danzo and the Konoha council for a little extra cash.

The other reason he wasn't going as fast was because the first chakra signal had been joined by another. The two Shinobi, for no civilian could have chakra as high as the two he was sensing, had stopped a short distance ahead and their chakra levels were fluctuating wildly, indicating that they were fighting.

He slowed still further and dropped from the trees to continue forward at a sedate walk. The closer he got to these two Shinobi, the surer he was that their chakra felt… familiar somehow…

Then, the ground appeared to drop out ahead of him as he came to the edge of a cliff that had been hidden by the dense foliage. Kai cautiously peaked over the edge and down into the huge valley before him. There was a waterfall at one end with a huge lake at the bottom that meandered off at the opposite end in a river that disappeared around a bend. Standing on either side of the waterfall were two huge statues with their hands together, forming hand seals as they watched over the valley and each other.

But it was not the statues that attracted Kai's attention because on top of the two statues were the two Shinobi he had been tracking. One of them was surrounded with a, orange-red aura while the other was surrounded by a purple aura, both of them far more powerful than they had been the last time Kai had seen either of them. And he was sure that he knew them now.

Both were definitely familiar, but had something else to them that made them different from the Genin he had once known. While the orange one seemed filled with rage, the purple aura was tainted with hatred and made him remember the feeling of Orochimaru from when his teammates had fought him in the Forest of Death.

As Kai stared, he felt two words come to his lips unbidden, "Sasuke…Naruto…"

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AN: BAM! A little cannon for ya : )

Kagetaka means Shadow Falcon. It will make more sense in later chapters.

As far as Orochimaru creating the monster dogs, I thought it would make sense. He was chased out of Konoha for experimenting on people, and he had to have gotten the money to fund his village without raising too much suspicion somewhere. It seemed to me that he could have sold some of his less successful experiments to crime lords and the like.

And by the way, I know assassins are supposed to get in without being seen and then get out after killing the mark, but this was Kai's first job, he'll get better with time.

Jutsu List:

_Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu_: Hidden Mist Technique

_Jibaku Fuda: Kassei: _Exploding Tag: Activate

_Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu_: Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu

_Karada Bunshin:_ Body Clone (Kai's signature Jutsu)

If anyone is looking for another good story to read, you should really check out Silver Shadowbreeze's fic Konoha no Taka: Ririku. It is a very well written piece of work that combines two different worlds seamlessly from my point of view. Tenstar12 gives it two thumbs up and a blindingly bright Gai smile :D

Next chapter, Kai interferes in the epic battle at the valley of the end! Please Review!


	11. Chapter 11

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Chapter 11

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Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto

AN: And now, the epic battle at the Valley of the End… With a twist!

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As Kai looked on, he found it hard to believe what he knew to be true. How could Naruto and Sasuke be here now? What were the odds of that? But nevertheless, there they were, standing right in front of him.

But why were they fighting? Just as these thoughts ran through his head, Kai saw two bright points of light form in front of the two Genin before they leapt toward each other, driving what were undoubtedly offensive Jutsu toward the their opponent. The two attacks met for a moment before exploding violently, sending the two Shinobi flying backwards into the canyon walls and then into the lake water below.

Kai had seen enough at this point. The only way to find out any more about the fight would be to get into it himself. With a quick burst of chakra, Kai leapt from the top of the cliff and toward the two battling Genin. He managed to cover about a third of the distance between them before he hit the surface of the lake, using chakra to cushion his fall. As soon as he recovered from his hard landing, Kai drew Reimeiken and started running on top of the water towards Naruto and Sasuke who were now locked in a Taijutsu exchange.

When Kai got close enough, he leapt into the air again and transformed his blade into its Suiton form. With another pulse of chakra, Kai got the blade spinning and launched it toward the two Shinobi. At the last second, Kai flared his chakra to get their attention and tilted the blade so it flew vertically between them, forcing them to jump away from each other. "What the hell are you two doing?" Kai shouted as he caught his shuriken and landed a short distance away, forming a triangle with the two Shinobi standing at the other points.

"Kai?" Naruto asked in a slightly rough voice. It was fairly clear at this distance that Naruto had somehow learned to use the chakra of the Kyuubi sealed within him. With his darker whisker marks, elongated canine teeth that looked like fangs, the fox tail of chakra behind him, and the otherwise feral look to his face there was little else it could be.

"Ah, Kai is here too," Sasuke smirked, "now I won't have to hunt you down if I don't get my power after killing this dobe." Sasuke looked just like he always had, except that he was now sporting a flame-like tattoo that seemed to originate from a seal on the spot that Orochimaru had bitten him on in the Forest of Death. That seal was what was giving off the dark energy that Kai had felt and seen earlier.

"What are you talking about Sasuke?" Kai asked, completely confused.

"The teme is trying to run from Konoha. He wants to go and join Orochimaru!" Naruto shouted, glaring at Sasuke with enough anger in his eyes to make a lesser Shinobi faint.

"WHAT!" Kai shouted, turning a confused look onto the still smirking Uchiha, "What is he talking about Sasuke?"

"For once the dobe is right," Sasuke said, "Orochimaru gave me this Curse Mark to show me a hint of the power that I could have if I join him. He has promised to give me the power I need to kill Him. I will do whatever I have to do to get power. I am an avenger and I must kill Itachi!"

It was fairly clear to Kai that Sasuke had lost it. In fact, now that he thought about it, Sasuke had been changing ever since the Forest of Death in the Chunin Exams. It must have had something to do with that seal.

"Enough talk," Sasuke suddenly shouted, snapping Kai out of his thoughts, "its time for you to die!" Sasuke suddenly launched himself toward Kai with a kunai in his hand. Kai, for his part, was stunned. Sasuke wouldn't really hurt him, would he?

Just before Sasuke reached Kai, Naruto slammed into his side, sending the Uchiha flying away to skid along the surface of the water before he planted his hand and turned his uncontrolled skid into a flip that brought him to his feet again. "You can't let your guard down. I let that happen already and he almost ended this battle early."

Kai shook his head, "Alright oni-san, let's take this teme down and get him back to Konoha, whether he wants to or not."

Naruto gave one of his foxy grins, which was slightly intimidating thanks to his fangs, and nodded, "Let's do it."

"Fine then," Sasuke said as he stood straight again and put away his kunai, "if you want to fight together, then you'll just make it even easier for me to kill you." He formed a quick chain of seals before bringing his hand to his mouth, "_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!_"

As the gigantic fireball flew from Sasuke's mouth and barreled down on the two Shinobi, Kai sent another pulse of chakra to the Suiton Reimeiken and swung it in front of him, kicking up a wave of water that met the fireball and extinguished it just before it got to them.

"Nice work with the wave oni-san," Naruto said, "now it's my turn." Kai sighed in relief as Naruto charged toward Sasuke. He had been hoping that Naruto would think he had just kicked up a wave to block the fireball. He wasn't quite ready to reveal the newest of Reimeiken's abilities. The second power offered by each form was a small amount of elemental manipulation. According to the sword, it was just enough to allow for defense at first but as his skill grew so would his skill with the manipulation, allowing him to control greater amounts of each element at once, thus increasing what he could do with it.

But that wouldn't happen for a long while. First he had to unlock the other two elemental forms of Reimeiken. Then he had to master the weapons enough so that he could learn the first ability each offered before he learned the manipulation skill.

Bringing himself back to the fight, Kai saw Naruto and Sasuke once again exchanging hand-to-hand blows and the young Chunin found himself baffled. There was no way he would be able to help Naruto in this fight. He and Sasuke were moving far faster than Kai could even dream of. What could he do?

Then Kai remembered a part of his training with his mother…

_**Tori, Inu, Tora, Flashback no Jutsu!**_

Ushina smiled as Kai sent another arrow right into the center of the target they had set up across their training field. "Excellent work Kai," she praised, "you definitely have The Gift with archery."

Kai paused, "What do you mean?"

Ushina closed her eyes for a moment as she called up her history lessons from long ago, "As you know, our clan was once a clan of assassins, many of whom used bows in their work. Well, every once in a while, some of the assassins, usually two or three in a generation, would have an unusual level of talent with their bows. Some would just pick up a bow for the first time and start using like a seasoned expert, just like you." She paused for a moment before continuing, "It was said that a few could make any shot simply by using their Miraigan and waiting for the right moment. When asked about it, they would just say that they just had a feeling that it was the right time to take the shot, and they never missed when they listened to that feeling.

"That's awesome," Kai said in awe, "do you think I could learn to do that?"

Ushina chuckled, "It's possible Kai, although you would have to find some way to teach yourself. The history records said that it was just a kind of latent talent that these individuals had and figured out on their own, not something that can be taught."

_**Flashback no Jutsu Kai!**_

It wasn't something that could be taught, but he may have the ability anyway, and it wasn't like there was anything else he could do right now. Shrugging, Kai allowed Reimeiken to shift back to its katana form and sheathed it while he jumped to the nearby shore, watching the entire time to make sure the two fighting Genin didn't come his way.

Once he was clear, he summoned his bow and nocked an arrow while activating his Miraigan. Then, he began to wait, following the fight with his future-seeing eyes. Then, after a few minutes of tracking the fight with his bow, Kai felt something. It was so slight he almost didn't notice at first, but the feeling grew as he continued to follow his target. Then, something just felt right and he released the arrow.

Sasuke cried out in pain as he jumped away with his left foot, revealing that Kai's arrow had cleanly punctured his right calf. Naruto looked fairly winded by this point showing just how tough the fight had been. Kai ran to his side as he resealed his bow and activated his level two Miraigan, "Are you alright?"

Naruto nodded and gave Kai another slightly scary grin, "Just fine oni-san, just a little winded. Sasuke is a lot stronger than before you showed up. I think he got more excited with his other 'target' showing up and drew on more of that seal's power."

The Chunin nodded, "Alright then, you take a break. I think I can take him now that I've slowed him down some."

Kai took a few steps closer to Sasuke and noticed that he had snapped the head off the arrow in his leg. As Kai watched, Sasuke slid the shaft free from his leg with a slight hiss of pain. When the Uchiha looked up at Kai there was nothing but rage in his eyes.

Kai decided to take the initiative and engage in a little Zabuza-style mental warfare, "Sasuke, do you remember the day of our Genin exam? When we had to fight in the Taijutsu spar, and I beat you."

"It was a fluke dobe." Sasuke sneered as he stood, still keeping his weight off his right leg, "I would have beaten you then if we could have used Jutsu." Apparently it was a sore topic for Sasuke in his enraged state.

"But that isn't the point now is it Sasuke," Kai said with a cocky smirk, which served its purpose in enraging Sasuke even more, "when it comes down to it, you lost, and that's all there is to it."

Sasuke growled in frustration and leapt forward so quickly Kai was only able to dodge partially and the punch Sasuke had sent for his chest ended up hitting his upper arm, spinning the Chunin around and leaving him open for a kick from Sasuke that sent him flying. Kai used the same maneuver Sasuke had used earlier and planted his chakra coated hand onto the surface of the water and flipped over onto his feet.

"You know Sasuke," Kai said once he had stopped moving, "You really are different from the Genin I knew."

"You're right," Sasuke smirked, "I'm better than before."

Kai shook his head, "No, you're not. The old Sasuke wouldn't let rage cloud his judgments. The old Sasuke wouldn't betray everything he has ever known just for a little extra power. He wouldn't abandon his friends and try to kill them for a chance at revenge."

"I don't need friends," Sasuke said, keeping his smirk wide on his face, "at least not any more. To get the power to kill Itachi, I must do what Itachi did. I must kill my best friend and unlock the true power of my Sharingan eye."

Kai shook his head and took his fighting stance, "then you are truly lost. I hope you know that you can't defeat Naruto and I together. You will have to go back to the village and pay for this."

Sasuke started laughing, "You honestly think you can defeat me? Let me tell you something Kai," Sasuke formed a quick chain of seals, "back when we were on the same team, you were good, there is no doubt about that," he grasped his left wrist with his right hand, "but Kakashi saw true strength and potential in me which is why he taught me his _Chidori!_" The lightning-chakra flashed into existence in his hand, casting a bright light over his figure, giving him a haunted look, "And that is why you will not be able to beat me! Even our sensei saw that I was better than you, and Naruto has never been a challenge. If it weren't for that demon inside him, he would already be dead."

Kai sighed as he relaxed his stance, "You really think that you're better than everyone else, don't you Sasuke? Well then, allow me to prove you wrong," Kai formed an ox seal as Sasuke's eyes started to widen, "You see Sasuke, when I was forced to leave the village, Kakashi sensei gave me something," he formed a rabbit seal, "It was a scroll that gave me the instructions for a particular Jutsu," monkey, "One that I'm sure you'll recognize," he grabbed his left wrist in his right hand and began focusing his chakra, "You're not the only one of Kakashi-sensei's students to learn his _Chidori!_" With one final pulse of chakra, the chirping sound let off by Sasuke's attack was doubled when the same attack appeared in Kai's hand.

"H…how?" Sasuke stammered as his Chidori wavered when his focus faltered.

"Like I said Sasuke," Kai had to shout to be heard over the twin Jutsu, "You're not the only one who Kakashi-sensei saw as being worthy of learning his one and only original technique. In fact, I don't really think he taught it to you in the first place. You probably just stole the technique with those eyes of yours and he had to teach you how to use it so you wouldn't hurt yourself. Is that what really happened Sasuke?" Kai honestly had no idea if that was what had happened, but anger was making Sasuke lose his focus and that was all that was going to keep Kai alive in this fight.

Just as the Chunin had been hoping for, Sasuke let out a scream of fury as he launched himself toward Kai once again, holding his Chidori out to pierce his chest. Kai mimicked him and the two attacks met with a bright flash that nearly blinded them. They stood there for a few moments, straining against each other, each one trying to push their own attack through the other's defenses. In the end, neither was able to make it as the attacks suddenly detonated, sending Sasuke and Kai flying back into opposite sides of the canyon. But Sasuke was much closer to his side and managed to hit a weak point in the wall when he hit, knocking down a few rocks and kicking up enough dust to prevent Kai and Naruto from seeing him.

"Oni-san," Naruto shouted as he dropped out of his Kyuubified state, "are you alright?"

Kai shook the grogginess from his head, very glad that he had had farther to fly before he hit the wall, "Yeah… I think I'm alright."

"Well then," Naruto said with a smile, "I guess all we have to do now is pick up the teme and then I'll take him back to Konoha."

"YOU FUCKING DOBES!"

"Ah, what the hell!" Kai exclaimed as he rose to his feet again, feeling another, even larger, pulse in the Curse Mark's dark chakra than before.

"YOU DON'T REALLY THINK ITS OVER YET DO YOU?" Sasuke was coming into view now as the dust settled and Kai could honestly say that he would have been happier without seeing his new, much more intimidating form.

The curse mark had changed Sasuke even further now so there was very little resemblance to the Genin he used to be. His skin was now completely grey and his eyes had switched around so they were black with the Sharingan showing up white in them. There was a strange cross on the bridge of his nose and his hair had grown several inches and was now spiking out even further than before. But the strangest addition to this new form were the two hand-like wings that had sprouted from his back.

"Oh shit," Naruto said as he called up the Kyuubi's chakra again, "He just had to get back up, didn't he?" Naruto quickly charged forward and met Sasuke halfway across the canyon, once again over the lake. Kai chose to run off to the side, circling around the two Genin, forming hand seals as he went. They needed to finish this quick, and he had one Jutsu that just may do the trick.

Forty-four seals later, Kai called out his Jutsu, "_Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!_" As soon as Kai released his chakra, the water behind him began to stir. Suddenly, with a huge splash, a gigantic, serpentine water dragon rose from the lake and twisted around itself over Kai's head. Kai paused for a moment to catch his breath from using such a high-level technique before he pointed toward Sasuke. The dragon roared and charged toward the changed Uchiha.

Sasuke almost didn't realize what was going on. He and Naruto were so involved in their own fight that if Naruto's enhanced senses hadn't warned him of the dragon in time for him to jump out of the way, then Sasuke wouldn't have noticed either. As it was, it didn't make any difference. The water dragon easily caught Sasuke in its jaws and carried him straight into the cliff wall behind him, smashing itself into Sasuke as it dissolved.

Kai nearly collapsed. He barely had the energy to get to the shore without falling through the surface of the water before he dropped to his knees. He had no time to celebrate however as the sound of chirping birds once again echoed throughout the canyon.

"I CANNOT LOSE!" Sasuke cried as he dashed toward the fallen Chunin, "_CHIDORI!_"

Naruto was quick to react, "_Rasengan!_" The Kyuubified boy intercepted Sasuke, putting them in another lock up between their two attacks, but there was something wrong. Sasuke's Chidori had changed. It was a deep purple color instead of the usual bright blue-white, and it seemed to be a lot stronger than before. Naruto was losing ground.

Kai had to help Naruto or else Sasuke was going to drive that Chidori right through his heart. The Chunin struggled to stand for a moment but quickly realized that it was no use. He was completely out of chakra. Naruto was going to die.

_-There is another way-_

"Huh?" Kai sat up straight, slightly startled by the voice from nowhere.

_-There is a way to save you friend, but you may not enjoy the price of using my power-_

What was going on? "I'll do whatever I have to do to save my oni-san."

_-And that is why you are worthy. You have been tried and tested and have been deemed worthy. Accept this power now, but know that it is only temporary. We will speak again after this fight, and after you have recovered from the… side-effects.-_

Kai failed to notice the humor in the mind-voice, but couldn't help but feel the sudden, seemingly limitless surge of chakra that flooded his body. He quickly pushed aside the feeling of elation and jumped to his feet. There was only one Jutsu that he had that would be able to help Naruto now. He quickly formed the three seals before putting everything he could into one more Chidori.

As soon as the attack formed, Kai ran toward the two Shinobi in the center of the canyon and rammed his own Chidori against Sasuke's, right alongside Naruto and his Rasengan. But even then, Sasuke was pushing them back, only now Kai was in the line of fire as well. It seemed the power of this Curse Seal powered Chidori was too much for them to handle.

But then, Kai noticed the lightning tendrils from his attack were being pulled into Naruto's Rasengan and remembered something he had read in Kakashi's scroll. Back when the Jonin had first created the Chidori, it had been entirely by accident. His sensei, the Yondaime Hokage, had actually been teaching him to use the Rasengan, but Kakashi's lightning element chakra had made what had started as another failed attempt at the Yondaime's prize technique into the Chidori. Essentially, the Rasengan and the Chidori were the same attack with a little twist in the preparation of Kakashi's version.

With this in mind, it was possible to come to the conclusion that the two attacks could be used together. And Kai was getting desperate. Deciding to go for it since they had nothing to lose, Kai shifted his arm around and drove his Chidori right into the heart of Naruto's Rasengan.

"Kai," Naruto shouted, "What are you…" The Genin stopped when he saw the two attacks merge seamlessly. He then gave another intimidating foxy grin and redoubled his efforts with Kai pushing along with him. Between the two Jutsu, a new combination had been created that was able to overpower Sasuke's corrupted Chidori.

The Uchiha's eyes widened when he began to be pushed back again by the Rasengan-Chidori combo Jutsu. Then, his own attack suddenly gave out and the two Shinobi drove their attack home. Sasuke began to spin around the axis created by the spiraling Jutsu while powerful bolts of electricity lashed at his skin before Sasuke was launched away, once again crashing into the canyon wall.

_-Quickly now, before he gets up, place you hand over the seal and pump in as much of my chakra as you can. I can destroy it, but only if you hurry.-_

Not seeing any reason not to, Kai half stumbled over to Sasuke's side and put his hand on the Curse Mark before pulling up the last of the chakra and pouring it into Sasuke's body. Immediately, both boys began screaming in pain. Kai because the chakra was now flowing completely out of his control and more than fast enough to damage his chakra coils, and Sasuke because he was feeling the battle going on between the Curse Seal's chakra and the mind-voice's chakra within his own body.

Finally, the flow stopped and Kai fell to the ground, completely drained again.

"Kai!" Naruto shouted as he stumbled to the fallen Chunin's side, once again without the Kyuubi chakra engulfing him, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Kai croaked, barely able to work up the energy to talk, "check Sasuke's neck. See if the seal is still there."

Naruto paused for a moment, "No, it's gone… What did you do?"

Kai chuckled weakly, "I have no idea."

"You're going to have to do better than that Kai."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto whipped around and saw the one-eyed Jonin standing behind him, staring thoughtfully down at the three Shinobi.

"I came to try and help Naruto, but I find the job already done," Kakashi said, a smile clear in his voice, "Are you sure you don't know how you removed that Curse Seal?"

Kai sighed weakly, "I really don't know Kakashi sensei."

"And it really isn't something you have to worry about Kakashi."

This time Kakashi spun around to see Zabuza and Haku standing behind him, "Ah, Zabuza, what brings you here."

"My student," Zabuza responded, nodding toward Kai, "Haku and I felt his chakra spike earlier and decided we needed to investigate."

"Wow," Naruto exclaimed, "you got Zabuza to be your sensei?"

"Yeah," Kai said with a weak smile, "and as much as I'm enjoying my view of the dirt, could someone please help me up?" Almost instantly, Haku was at Kai's side and easily lifted the weakened Kai, supporting him as he hobbled over to Zabuza's side.

"Well then," Kakashi said, "I guess I'll have to come up with a story to deal with the Hokage and the council…"

"Don't worry about it Kakashi-sensei," Naruto interrupted, "I'll talk to Ba-chan and she'll take care of the council."

Kakashi sighed, "Alright Naruto, if you're sure you can."

Naruto gave another grin, "I'll take care of it, believe it!"

Kai groaned and Zabuza shook his head before saying, "I think we'd better take our leave before the ANBU get here."

Kakashi nodded, he could sense the chakra signatures of the incoming ANBU as well, "You'd better get going then. See you around Kai." With that, Kakashi stooped down and picked up Sasuke before turning back toward Konoha and setting off with Naruto close behind. Zabuza did the same with Kai, but he just flung the Chunin over his shoulder, opposite Kubikiri Houcho.

The last sight Kai had before he passed out was of Kakashi and Naruto climbing up the opposite side of the canyon.

It was the last time he would see either of them for a long time.

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AN: Gotta love these action chapters.

Real quick, I'm sorry for the 'Believe It!" at the end there, I just couldn't help myself. : )

Jutsu List:

_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu_: Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique

_Chidori_: One Thousand Birds

_Suiton; Suiryudan no Jutsu_: Water Style: Water Dragon Blast Technique

_Tori_ - Bird

_Inu_ - Dog

_Tora_ - Tiger

Ok, now to explain why this chapter took so freaking long. When I posted the last chapter early, I didn't have another one ready like I usually do. Not only that, but I was seriously out of inspiration. Between that, finals coming up shortly after I posted the last chapter, Thanksgiving right after that, and then the Christmas thing with decorating, shopping, and wrapping presents I have had literally no time to type. Then, I finally managed to find and read a fanfiction that somehow gave me enough inspiration to type it up.

But then, the unthinkable happened. I lost my f***ing flash drive that had the chapter on it. So basically what I'm saying is that after going through everything I did to get Chapter 11 written, I had to do it all over again from scratch. The backup file I had on my computer only had half of Chapter 10. I got the entire Chapter 10 off the site and then spent five and a half hours typing the version of Chapter 11 you just finished reading.

So I seriously hope you all appreciate what I did to bring you this chapter… even if it is a month late, lol

Anyway, I hope you all liked the chapter; God knows I went through enough to get it posted : ) Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

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Chapter 12

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: Well, the inspiration has finally started flowing again, even if it is only a little trickle. With four days a week of school and loads of homework to do I haven't had too much time to put a lot of thought into this chapter, which is why it has been so long in the making. I guess four days of nearly unlimited computer access didn't help me as much as I thought it would, lol.

Response to the Reviewers:

SilverShadowbreeze: I do have a plan for the Rasengan-Chidori combination Jutsu, but it won't come out for a while since Naruto and Kai won't be meeting again for several chapters, but at this time I'm not sure how long it will be in the end.

Insufficient Plz: Hey, another new reviewer : ) I'm sorry about getting your hopes up about Naruto. I really only did the Valley of the End battle to help introduce a new character, who you'll see in this chapter, and to anchor my story against the cannon timeline. Thanks for the compliment about Kai. I know there are a lot of OC's out there that do tend to be a little overpowered, and to be honest I still get the feeling that I may be making Kai too overpowered as well. He still has a few things to pick up before his original design is reached, but they won't really give him any extra powers. Sadly, there won't be a lot more of Ino till I get back to Naruto again. She won't be showing up for a few more chapters still. Sry : (

Oh and by the way, I made a few changes to the earlier chapters. Nothing that will change the way the story is going, I just added a little more Japanese so I can feel a little smarter than I really am : ) Mostly it was just adding Kaa-san and Tou-san and, in one instance, Jiji instead of their english counterparts : )

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Seiru made his way down the dirt road before him, whistling a random tune as he walked. Finally, after two months of searching and tracking a decade old trail, he had found his first really strong lead on his family.

As he leisurely rounded a bend in the trail, he saw his destination spread out before him at the base of a long slope. The Shinobi couldn't help but laugh, who would have thought that his search would lead him back here?

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Kai groaned as he emerged into the waking world feeling as if he had just spent the last five hours getting pounded on like a pervert caught peeking in women's hot springs. His entire body was sore, right down to his hair. It wasn't that he couldn't move though, which he quickly found out, it was just that moving at all hurt really badly, which he discovered just as quickly when he tried to lift his head only to fall back once again with his eyes tightly clenched as intense muscle pain shot through his body.

As his senses returned to him, Kai noticed a warm weight sitting on his chest. Panicking slightly, Kai managed to dredge up enough courage to open one eye, fighting off the small bit of pain as his body protested even this slight movement. What he saw surprised him enough to open the other one. Sitting on his chest was his mother's white falcon, and it was staring straight into his eyes with something that looked like amusement.

"Uh…" Kai started to speak when the bird suddenly looked toward the door, taking its unnerving gaze away from Kai, and let out a small peep before turning away from the door and flew up to the top of a bookshelf. Kai ended up jumping when the door slammed open revealing Zabuza and Haku, the former of which had thrown the door open in his anger.

"What's going on Zabuza-sensei?" Kai asked weakly ignoring the pain as Zabuza's eyes widened in shock when he heard the boy speak.

The Jonin quickly recovered however, "It's about time you woke up Kai," he was speaking in a normal tone of voice, but Kai could tell he was still very angry, "and it's a good thing you did. The fucking mayor of this fucking shithole town decided that we needed to leave whether you were in any shape to or not."

"Personally I agree with them," Haku spoke up, closing the door silently as Zabuza flung himself into a chair across from Kai's bed, "we do need to get out of here, the sooner the better, but the mayor decided to force us out under less than ideal circumstances."

"Because he's a coward!" Zabuza said in a slightly more stern voice, it was fairly obvious that he was holding back the full extent of his rage by a mere thread.

"He has every right to be afraid Zabuza-sama, and he didn't have to cover for us the first time."

"Uh, guys…" Kai said, his weak voice somehow getting their attention, "what exactly are you talking about? How long have I been out and what's going on?"

Zabuza sighed, calming himself down before turning to face Kai fully, "You've been out for about three days. Whatever you did in that valley really drained you kid; Haku didn't even think you would be awake this soon."

"You were in very bad condition. Your body was flooded with a strange chakra that overloaded it, putting you into a coma while your chakra system repaired itself and replenished your natural reserves," Haku inserted, giving Zabuza a little more time to control himself.

"And before you try and explain what happened, don't," Zabuza said with finality in his voice, "all I know is that after we brought you in here, your necklace started glowing and that bird showed up and that was when I decided that I didn't want to know as long as you don't do it again unless you absolutely have to."

Kai turned his head to look at the white falcon that had once again fixed its gaze upon him. Could the falcon really be something more? What if it was the mysterious voice that had given him the power to help Naruto beat Sasuke? Almost as if it could read his thoughts, the falcon bobbed its head a little as if it was nodding before turning away to preen a few of its feathers.

Kai forcibly brought his attention back to Zabuza and the Jonin continued his story, "About a day and a half ago, several Konoha ANBU showed up in town asking around for any news of the missing Shinobi who had participated in the battle in the Valley of the End." Kai's breath caught in his throat, but Zabuza wasn't done, "The mayor denied any knowledge of it and the ANBU said they would be back once they finished their rounds of the villages around the valley. It seems that your friend Sasuke was interrogated and they found out about your involvement in the battle. They were trying to bring you back."

"As soon as the ANBU left, the mayor came to Zabuza-sama and demanded to know what was going on. After the situation was explained, the mayor wanted us to leave right away but we managed to convince them that you were in no condition to travel and so he gave us a few more days."

"But now the coward has decided that if we don't leave now he is going to turn us in to Konoha himself! All because of a few little ANBU!" Zabuza really did shout this time, making Kai and Haku cringe.

"I see…" Kai said slowly as he thought about their situation. He knew Zabuza had no reason to lie to him, but he somehow didn't think that the mayor was just going to turn him in because of the ANBU; more like he wanted to reward on Kai's head for his capture.

"What we need to know Kai," Haku asked, "Is if you're ready to travel yet."

Kai sighed as he closed his eyes again and reached out for his chakra. His system seemed to be completely fine, and his chakra reserves were nearly full, but it seemed as if his body had put all its energy into fixing his chakra system since he couldn't move without intense pain otherwise. "If I had to," Kai said slowly, "I could. I really can't move right now without my entire body hurting, but my chakra reserves are full. I can use my chakra to ease my muscles so I should be able to move, but I'll have to collapse again tonight. Until I have enough time to recover my strength, I won't be able to do much of anything."

Zabuza shook his head, "Alright Kai, if you think you can do it, you probably should. We do need to get out of here before the ANBU come back."

"I saw a copy of their orders that they showed to the mayor," Haku said, "They were issued by a man named Danzo. Didn't you say that he was the one who wanted you captured before you left Konoha?"

Kai nodded sadly and Zabuza stood up, "Alright then, it's decided. Haku and I will pack up our gear and get some supplies while you work on getting yourself on your feet. As soon as you're ready, we'll get out of this ungrateful town."

Kai nodded again and watched as his two companions left his room. Just as he was about to focus on his chakra, the falcon once again flapped its way down to his chest where it landed lightly.

Kai eyed the bird warily for a moment, only now thinking about the potential dangers of having a creature with a wickedly hooked beak so near his face. But then he decided that since his mother had trusted the creature, he should as well.

As Kai once again closed his eyes to focus on re-energizing his muscles, he heard it, -_You'll just end up making yourself worse if you do it that way you know.-_ Kai's eyes shot open again as he stared accusingly at the falcon, which was once again staring straight into Kai's eyes, _-I didn't spend all this time accelerating your recovery just so you could undo it all with a few days of stupidity.-_

"It is you!" Kai exclaimed quietly.

Kai could have sworn the bird rolled its eyes, _-Yes, it's me. I'm the one who gave you the power to defeat Sasuke.-_

"Alright," Kai said, "then can you tell me why I hurt so much?"

The bird let out a burbling cry that was obviously its version of a laugh, ­-_I warned you that there would be consequences to using the power. That much Spirit Energy was never meant to be used by mere mortals, even if the spirits are tied in with the mortal's family.-_

"Huh?" Kai asked stupidly, his weakened statemaking it even harder for him to follow what was going on.

_-Let me explain,­_- the falcon said with a slightly exasperated tone in its mind-voice, -_I am a guardian spirit that was asked centuries ago to help protect the Wareta Clan. My name is Takagoei and, as you can tell, I am a falcon spirit. Basically what I do is choose one member from each generation of the Wareta clan to bear my amulet and, if I feel that the bearer is worthy, I will help them out when they need it. As I said in the Valley young Kai, 'You have been tried and tested and have been deemed worthy.' Ever since Ushina gave you the Taka Amulet, I have been watching you closely and have found that you have a noble spirit and do not fight for the wrong reasons. Officially, I am here to help you in your battles in whatever way I can. Unofficially, my job is to make sure that you stay alive or else Ushina will, and I quote, 'Skin me alive and make me into dinner for the family cat.'-_

Kai was slightly perplexed still, but shook it off for a moment, "So, you were watching over Kaa-san before, and now that she gave the amulet to me…"

-_After my suggestion.-_

"…right… you're going to help me out in my battles?"

The falcon nodded, which seemed slightly out of place on the raptor's body, -_I can tell that you don't find that to be too likely given my size, but let me assure you, once you recover, you will find out that I have a few tricks that you will find very beneficial in battle. I only ask one thing in return…-_

"And that is…"

Takagoei's eyes took on what Kai could only call a desperate look, ­_-Please don't seal me back into the amulet unless you have absolutely no other choice. I'm begging you. You have no idea what it's like in that thing. I'm a bird, birds need to be free to fly, and I cannot do that while sealed. To be completely honest, I have developed quite the case of claustrophobia during my time in there.-_

"What do you mean?" Kai asked, now genuinely intrigued, although slightly confused.

-_Your grandfather never summoned me for anything and, after you were born, Ushina only summoned me once every few months. I haven't been able to really stretch my wings for years!-_

If Kai hadn't been so exhausted and sore, he would have laughed, "Alright, I think we have a deal."

-_Good, then I have an idea for how to let you travel without extending your recovery time any more than necessary.-_

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"You know I hate you right!" Kai screamed over the rush of air. Takagoei had had a wonderful idea to help him travel alright. The spirit had first given him a small amount of Spirit Energy that had allowed his muscles to recover enough to allow him to move without any pain for a while. Once he had managed to struggle outside and Zabuza and Haku had been introduced to Kai's new partner, the falcon had surprised all of them by drawing on a little of Kai's chakra and growing into a seven foot tall version of himself.

Apparently the spirit couldn't use his own chakra for most of his "tricks" as he had called them, but by accessing the chakra of the individual he was assigned to protect, he could use several techniques, one of which increased his size.

The falcon's plan had been to have Zabuza and Haku strap Kai onto his back so that the newly enlarged bird could carry him while Zabuza and Haku traveled. Kai did not like this idea. But, as it turned out, he didn't have a choice since Zabuza thought the idea was one of the best he had ever heard. Kai somehow got the feeling that Zabuza was just agreeing so he could torture his student, and if the sinister gleam in the Jonin's eye was anything to go by, he was right.

That put Kai in the situation he was in now, strapped to the back of a giant white falcon that was flying gracefully through the air several hundred feet off the ground. He was not very happy. Takagoei however, didn't seem to be bothered by his partner's discomfort as his cheerful thoughts continually ran through Kai's head, -_Isn't the wind wonderful today? And the sun is absolutely perfect. It has been way too long since the last time I got to fly like this.-_

Kai forced himself to calm down, "As much as I love hearing about how much fun you're having, do you think we could talk about something else? Preferably something that will take my mind off of how high in the air we are and what will happen if I fall."

Takagoei gave a mental snort, -_Please. If you fall, I will catch you long before you hit the ground. You don't think you're the first person I've carried like this do you? Well, maybe the first one that had to be strapped to my back, but I've had dozens of your ancestors up here with me before. The only difference is that they held on with their own chakra.-_

"Great," Kai said sarcastically, "just what I needed to hear. That will definitely calm my nerves." The next several hours were spent with Takagoei keeping up a running commentary on the glory of flying while Kai tried to forget where he was. Needless to say, he felt great sense of relief when the falcon spirit announced that Zabuza was waving them down.

"What's up Zabuza-sensei?" Kai asked as Haku unstrapped him and supported him when his sore legs nearly buckled as they tried to take his weight.

"We're going to stop here for the night," Zabuza answered simply as he dropped his pack onto the ground along with Kai's which he had been carrying.

Kai glanced up and took appraisal of the sun's position, "But it's only a few hours past midday. Why are we stopping now?"

"To be honest with you Kai," Haku said, "Zabuza-sama and I could usually travel much farther in a day than we have since you joined up. He was just setting a slower pace so you would be able to keep up with us. We have already traveled our regular distance that you are used to and we both believe that you need some more rest time without being strapped to the back of your friend here."

"Besides," Zabuza said with a hint of a laugh, "the longer you're out of commission, the longer I'll have to be the one to cut our firewood." Kai groaned, but decided to let it go. Right now, he didn't care about the looming firewood duty that awaited him when he recovered. He didn't care about the rapidly shrinking falcon next to him. All he cared about was that his feet were once again on solid ground.

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Seiru slowly walked up to the house that, if his information was correct, held his goal. He had asked a few villagers about his family, and eventually found someone who was willing to tell him where to go. The people here were fairly untrusting of strangers, but that was to be expected with what had only recently happened.

The man stared at the two story house in front of him before gathering his courage and walking up to the front door and knocking. There was a short delay in which Seiru heard the sound of a chair sliding across the ground followed by a few slow footsteps. Then a pair of eyes appeared in the doorway.

As Seiru watched, the eyes went from curious to surprised to watery as if on the verge of tears. The door was quickly jerked open and thrown back where it slammed against the wall as the red-haired woman standing there flung herself forward and into Seiru's arms.

"Seiru-kun," she cried into his shoulder, "but how… I thought you were dead… I thought…"

As she shook with sobs, Seiru carefully and lovingly held her, doing his best to comfort his wife. It had been more than ten years since he had last seen her, held her, but he still found the words came easily, "It's alright now. You don't have to worry any more. I'm back..."

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AN: I know the chapter was a little weak and very short but it was a bit rushed since I was way behind. I'm running short on inspiration again, but I WILL get this done. The next part of my series takes me in a completely different direction so hopefully I won't be as short on ideas : )

I love falcons. They are, in my opinion, one of the greatest creatures on the face of this planet. When I thought of giving Kai a summon, I didn't really like the idea of having him sign a contract, especially when I put his chakra limitations in to the equation. Then I came up with the idea of a family guardian spirit. I liked it a lot and just ran with it, taking a few slightly modified ideas from other characters in Naruto (COUGHKIBACOUGH) and how they interact/fight with their partners.

Now that this is out of the way, I only have one more thing that I have already planned to add to Kai's little arsenal of Ninja stuff before he is fully equipped as I originally designed him. And no, that thing is not Higureken.

As for the part with Seiru, I had originally planned for the two parts to be one part at the end of the last chapter, but when I lost the original copy of that chapter (see AN at the end of previous chapter) and had to retype it, I forgot to include it. So, I just decided to split it into two parts and add a little more meat to this airy filler chapter : )

I'm sure a lot of my readers thought that Seiru's part was over after giving Kai his bad-ass scar, but I assure you, he is not a character that will be disappearing so easily.

Jutsu List:

None : (

Taka means falcon

Goei means guardian

Therefore Takagoei roughly means 'falcon guardian' which is what he is : )

Please review and please don't be mad for the extended wait between the postings.


	13. Chapter 13

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Chapter 13

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: After long days of hard thought, mostly without any electricity thanks to a snow/ice storm, I have finally produced this chapter in the continuing adventures of Wareta Kai! Enjoy!

Responding to Reviewers:

Silver Shadowbreeze: I am NOT reading your mind! (Hides mind reading scanner thingy aimed at Shadow's head) : P Takagoei was one of the first things I imagined for Kai, so finally getting him into the story is a real landmark for me. As for Seiru, his purpose in the story is something I only came up with a few weeks after I first created him last summer, and should be revealed in the next few chapters if everything goes right. : )

Insufficient Plz: Konoha, not Shippuden. I honestly don't know much about the Shippuden storyline, so there really isn't going to be much from there except how the cannon characters look. This story completely branched off from cannon at the end of the Chunin Exams in What the Future Holds, and will only touch back on it like it did in the Valley of the End.

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Over the course of the next several days, Kai grew used to flying while strapped to the back of his new companion. While he never quite grew to enjoy that particular form of travel, by the time he had recovered enough to travel on his own, Kai no longer screamed when the bird took off and landed.

As soon as he had enough strength and mobility to lift his axe, Zabuza put him back to work on cutting the firewood just as he had promised, much to Kai's displeasure. Not only that, but two more areas were added to his training regimen in the days after he regained his feet. First, Zabuza, after spending several evenings observing the steadily increasing speed at which Kai wielded the axe on the trees he cut down for firewood, declared that he should have enough upper-body strength to start learning how to use his Doton Reimeiken. Shortly after that, Takagoei told Kai that he would also have to start learning how to fight alongside the guardian spirit as well.

So that was how Kai's days ended up filling to the brim again. They would all wake in the morning and the two Kiri Nin would clean up their camp while Kai ran through his morning weapon drills before starting out for the day. When they stopped for lunch, Kagetaka would use Kai's chakra to regain his huge size and Kai would fly with him by using chakra to stand to his back until Zabuza and Haku stopped for the evening.

This exercise, while extremely frightening the first few times he did it, was an excellent chakra

control exercise since he had to focus on two things at all times. First, Kagetaka himself was not the same as clinging to wood or standing on water with his chakra. The bird's feathers radiated with the spirit chakra Kai had used in the valley, which slightly disturbed his own chakra, meaning he had to focus even harder to keep from sliding off his back. Second, Kai had to deal with the wind at the high altitudes they were at, which was always blowing into him, threatening to send him flying off the back of the great bird at any second, chakra or no chakra.

Once they landed for the evening, Haku would take Kai to the side and continue his instruction on pressure points and basic senbon techniques, which was basically all review at this point, until Zabuza decided to take him off to work with his Doton Reimeiken. Once he had finished that exercise, it was time for Kai to go back to his old nemesis, firewood, before they set watch and went to sleep.

This went on for a few more weeks until Kagetaka decided to step in on Kai's training with Zabuza. The two Shinobi were sparing with their oversized weapons when the Kai felt a slight tug on his chakra from the falcon. He unconsciously let his partner draw on his energy and put his full concentration back into his fight with Zabuza. The Jonin never held back in these spars and if it wasn't for Kai's speed and improved strength that he only got from removing his weights, he wouldn't be able to keep up with him at all.

He knew all the basic Kata that Zabuza could teach him for his sword, but many of the forms Zabuza knew relied on a sword that could be thrown, as Kubikiri Houcho could. Kai had tried throwing his blade once upon Zabuza's instruction only to find that the sword lacked the aerodynamic properties to do anything more than flop to the ground once he released it. Once they had discovered that little problem, it had not taken long for Kai to learn all Zabuza could teach him before they moved on to sparring.

They had been fighting for around ten minutes and Kai was panting a little while Zabuza barely looked winded. Neither had been able to get any blows in though, which was quite the change from the norm especially since Kai hadn't been allowed to use the Miraigan during any of their training sessions. Both Shinobi stood for a moment in identical ready stances with the blades held out in front of them with the points facing the sky above them. Then, with a growling battle cry, Zabuza stepped forward enough to bring Kai into the range of his weapon and swung it in a downward slice that Kai easily blocked by shifting his weapon sideways and bracing his palm against the flat side near the end.

Kai pushed against Zabuza's blade as the Jonin pulled it up, freeing both weapons for a moment before the two swordsmen brought their blades around again, meeting each other with the resounding clang of metal on metal. Then, as Zabuza brought his blade to his side in preparation for another attack, Takagoei swooped down in his huge form and clamped his oversized talons onto the handle and through the hole at the opposite end of the blade before jerking it free from the Jonin's hands and carrying it into the air.

"What the hell is that fucking bird doing?" screamed Zabuza, "Bring back my sword!"

Kai had to stifle a laugh as Takagoei circled above them before swooping down toward Zabuza, releasing the blade as he went, sending the sword spiraling down to imbed itself several feet into the ground just in front of the slightly stunned Jonin.

-_Sorry for the intrusion, but Kai cannot learn anything more from you in the way of the sword Zabuza-san.-_ Takagoei said. Kai was moderately surprised to see Zabuza jump slightly, indicating that the bird was speaking into his mind as well as the Chunin's which he had never done before.

Zabuza sighed as he pulled Kubikiri Houcho free and strapped it to his back once more, prompting Kai to allow Reimeiken to revert to its normal form before he sheathed it as well. "I know," Zabuza said to the rapidly shrinking falcon that was now waiting for its size to reduce enough that he could land on Kai's shoulder without knocking him down, "I was actually intending this to be his last proficiency test. I really don't have anything more to give him that he can't get himself with practice."

The falcon perched on Kai's shoulder, lightly digging his talons into the vest there to keep his balance, and nodded, -_My thoughts exactly. I think it may be time for the two of us to move on to find his next teacher._- Kai was surprised. He was already going on to find another teacher. He had barely even been with Zabuza and Haku for three months.

"Already?" Kai asked, "Why so soon?"

-_There is nothing more for you to learn from them Kai,_- Takagoei said, this time for Kai alone to hear, -_and you must master the forms of Reimeiken as quickly as possible if you are to defeat Zanbifushi Hito._-

Kai sighed and nodded before looking toward Zabuza, "Thank you for everything Zabuza-sensei."

Zabuza waved his hand in the air, "Don't mention it kid, it was the least I could do for your help in Wave Country. If it wasn't for you, Haku and I probably would have died there, either by Kakashi or by Gato and his thugs."

Kai sighed, thinking back to the Wave mission with a light smile. Those had been the good days. Back before he had to run from Konoha. Every once in a while, he would find himself wondering about how everyone was doing. Sarutobi would probably have retired by now so he was probably living the life he had wanted, one where he could spend more time with his family instead of doing paperwork. Naruto was undoubtedly just as hyper as ever unless Jiraiya had managed to beat it out of him. And Ino… Kai blushed as he quickly turned his mind away from that particular train of thought.

Zabuza interrupted his further thoughts by clapping his hand down on the boy's free shoulder, "Come on kid, you don't have to do firewood tonight. It wouldn't be good if you were as exhausted as you normally are in the morning if you aren't going to have me and Haku to cover your back."

At this point, Kai could have pointed out that he had Takagoei and that he could fly if he had to, but decided against it. He really didn't want to have to chop firewood again… Stupid firewood…

That night, Kai, Zabuza, and Haku just sat around the fire and enjoyed themselves. Haku had managed to find and kill a deer so they all had more than enough to eat and smoked the rest while they filled the cook time with pleasant conversation. When Kai fell asleep, pleasantly full and eager for the next day's journey, he had no idea of the rude awakening he was going to get once the sun came up.

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The rude awakening came in the form of Takagoei screeching in his ear. "AHHHH!" Kai screamed, "WHAT THE HELL!"

If the bird could have smiled with its beak, it would have been, -_You needed to get up Kai, and you weren't responding to my mental calls._-

Kai groaned and stood up, noticing for the first time that he and the bird were alone, "Where are Haku and Zabuza-sensei?"

-_They left already,_- Takagoei responded, flapping his way into the air before perching lightly on Kai's shoulder, -_They couldn't very well wait until you woke up seeing as you slept until noon._-

Kai glanced up at the sky only to see that the sun was straight overhead, "WHAT! Why did you let me sleep this long?"

-_You needed your rest. You'll be traveling on foot today while I fly overhead to watch out for danger._-

Kai grumbled a little, more than a little disappointed that he didn't get to see his friends off, but still set about the routine of packing up his sleeping bag and sealing it away. In the process of cleaning up camp, Kai came across a sealing scroll left by his former sensei that contained Kai's share of the leftover venison from the night before and he pocketed it with a smile.

Once he finally finished, Kai sighed and leapt into the trees around the clearing they had camped in, not knowing where he was going, but knowing he was pretty much on his own for the first time.

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After a few hours of steady travel, accompanied by a few mental course corrections from Takagoei, Kai found himself ready for a quick break. It wasn't that he was really tired, just that he was getting a little stiff from repeating the same movements over and over as he jumped through the treetops.

Then, Takagoei gave him the mental equivalent of a tap on the shoulder, -_Kai, there is something going on over by the road. I think you should check it out._-

Kai sighed before nodding, knowing the falcon would see the motion with his keen eyesight. The two had spent a little time trying to figure out how the two could communicate. The falcon could only read his mind when they were relatively close, which removed that option, and hand signals would only go so far. As of yet, they hadn't come up with anything, but they were still working on the problem.

-_Alright then,_- Takagoei sent, -_make a sharp left at the big oak up ahead and you'll see what I'm talking about._-

Kai soon saw the tree the falcon had spoken of and grabbed an overhead branch to flip himself around the trunk to make his turn. After a few more seconds of travel, Kai heard what sounded like shouting up ahead. Slowing himself down, Kai formed a few quick hand seals and whispered the name of his technique, "_Meisaigakure no Jutsu._" Immediately, Kai's chakra began leaking from his Tenketsu, bending the light around him and hiding him from sight as well as masking the sounds of his passing through the trees.

Finally, Kai got close enough to hear what was being shouted.

"YOU STUPID CREATURE!"

"STOP RESISTING AND DO IT!"

`"IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THE PAIN!"

Kai felt a little shock from Takagoei, probably from the spirit seeing what was going on in the clearing from a closer spot, and further slowed his travel. His camouflage technique was good, but if he wasn't careful, a watchful person would still be able to spot the disturbance he created.

Finally, Kai came up to the edge of the road and saw a small camping area across from him. There were several of these cleared areas placed randomly along the road for travelers who wanted to stop at night, but didn't want to camp in the woods or on the road itself. They usually had a water source, and a few of them were even kept stocked with firewood, but those were fairly rare. This on in particular had both. In addition to that, it had ten people standing in it. Three were beating a large black… thing while one watched them and the rest stood around the edge of the clearing, probably on sentry duty.

Then, Kai saw the black creature move in response to a particularly vicious strike with a whip across what he could only assume was its head. When it rolled around, Kai saw that it was a huge black horse. He hadn't exactly seen many horses around Konoha, but there were a fair few used by some of the merchants who had to travel far to get their goods.

-_Kai,­_- Takagoei sent, -_I don't know what it is, but I get the feeling that that is not an ordinary horse. Maybe you should do something to help it…_-

Kai had been planning on it anyway, but knowing he had his companion's support helped his resolve. Making up his mind, Kai leapt across the road before slowly making his way to the edge of the clearing, giving himself a clear view of the men beating on the downed horse.

Kai reached into this weapon pouch and pulled out three shuriken. Then, just as the three men lifted their whips into the air to strike the beast again, Kai threw the shuriken toward them, neatly cutting the whips off right above the men's hands.

"What the hell," one of the men said, confused and angry at the same time.

"I think we have a visitor," said the man who had been watching the beating with an uninterested look on his face. Then, the man looked right at Kai, and the Chunin knew he had been caught.

Sighing, Kai let his camouflage Jutsu drop and stood up straight on his tree branch, holding onto one above him with his left hand.

"What are you doing here Shinobi? This does not concern you," the man, who Kai believed to be the leader, said evenly.

"What are you doing to that horse?" Kai responded with an equally cold voice.

The man merely laughed, "This is no horse you fool, it's a demon."

Kai lifted one eyebrow as the man looked on, apparently waiting for him to say it was alright for him to beat the demon-horse. "What's your point," was all Kai said.

This seemed to infuriate the man, "I see," he said slowly, "you want the beast for yourself. Well, I found him and he is mine!" With that, the man whipped out a kunai and flung it at Kai with enough accuracy to reveal that he had had some kind of Shinobi training.

The Chunin sighed and casually leaned to the side, easily dodging the projectile before debating for a moment then closing his eyes to call up his Kagetaka persona. After hours of practice while strapped to the back of a an oversized falcon, Kai could now change to his "Assassin Mode," as Zabuza had called it, in a matter of moments. It really did become easier the more times he did it. Kai didn't know if he should be glad or afraid of that fact.

The reason he had paused was because he wasn't sure if he would need it. These men were clearly bandits or thugs of some kind and were obviously prepared to fight if they had to, but some of them were unarmed, and the potential for guilt there is what drove Kai to call upon his other persona.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Kagetaka drew Reimeiken slowly, allowing the light of the afternoon sun to glint off the blade. He caught sight of the men who had been standing around the outside of the clearing moving to cluster ahead of their boss, clearly intending to fight him first. Kagetaka was confused. It was unusual to see this kind of devotion in regular bandits.

The assassin hopped lightly off the branch, making all the men flinch for a moment, before landing in a light crouch. He activated his bloodline as he looked up, making the men flinch again as they caught sight of his black and white eyes, before pumping some chakra to his legs and dashing toward the men ahead of him.

Before many of them knew he had even moved, two of them were dead, having had their heads removed by two easy slices from the Shinobi's silver blade. The men, including their leader, quickly scattered as Kagetaka stood up again, "What, is that all you've got?" he taunted.

It had the desired effect as many of the men got mad at the thought of being taunted by a child, Shinobi or not. Three more charged in and were quickly dispatched by Reimeiken before Kagetaka charged forward, heading toward a cluster of three men.

These three were the ones who had been beating the horse before and seemed to be the most capable of the thugs in the clearing besides the leader. This theory was proven when they each reached around to some part of their bodies and pulled out various concealed weapons. One took a few steps back and pulled out a few small throwing knives from their spots inside his boots. Another also reached down to his much taller boots and pulled out a pair of long fighting knives. The third reached around behind himself and lifted his shirt before drawing out a pair of sickles, holding them in front of himself with the air of someone who had fought with them for years.

With a grim smile, Kagetaka leapt into the air and brought his blade down toward the head of the man with the throwing knives, only to find himself blocked by the second man's knives. He then felt the warning tingle and dodged in time to prevent the third thug's twin sickles from slicing him across the back. It was fairly obvious now that these three were used to fighting together and did so flawlessly.

As soon as Kai's feet hit the ground again, he leapt back, sheathing his blade as he did and brought his hands together in a familiar seal, "_Karada Bunshin no Jutsu!_" The thugs were blinded temporarily by the bright light, but when they could see again, there were now two copies of Kagetaka where there had once been only one. One of the copies unsealed a bow and leapt into the trees while the other drew Reimeiken again and charged.

Through his mental connection with his clone, Kagetaka was able to coordinate his attacks so that every time one of the men got into a position to attack him, an arrow would hit them, sending them to the ground. After the sickle wielder was crippled by a shot to the back of his right shoulder, the men's leader sent the remaining thug in to help while he formed a quick chain of seals.

As Kagetaka dodged around the attacks of the thugs around him, he felt a pulse of chakra and managed to turn in time to see the leader sending a huge fireball flying into the trees in the direction of his clone. Before he could react, Kagetaka felt a slight pull on his chakra and watched as the slowly enlarging Takagoei dove into the path of the Jutsu. Just as the fireball reached him, the falcon cried out and gave an especially strong beat of his wings, sending a shockwave forward the canceled out the fireball and made the men attacking Kagetaka pause long enough for him to make a move.

Sheathing his blade to keep it from slowing him down, Kagetaka gave his clone a mental command before sinking a punch into the stomach of his one unarmed opponent before driving his elbow into the back of his head, sending him to the ground. Moving quickly, he then kicked the man with the throwing knives in the kneecap, hearing the bone crack and give way as the man went to his other knee in pain. Then, before the knife wielder could react, the clone came flying out of the trees and landed a strong elbow smash to the back of his head, knocking him out, before following through with a kick to the crippled man's head, sending him to join his comrade.

Kagetaka nodded to his clone before they clasped hands and rejoined just in time to see the leader throw a few shuriken at Takagoei, who flapped up, trying to get out of the way, only to have a few of his tail feathers cut in half.

-_Damn,_- the falcon said in Kagetaka's mind, -_I'll be out of the fight for a few minutes until I can regenerate those feathers. I can barely fly without them._- The Shinobi nodded in understanding before turning to the other man in the clearing.

Kagetaka then turned toward the leader, "Why are you harming this horse?" he demanded.

"Why are you defending the demon?" The leader shouted in response. This brought back memories to Kagetaka of his time in Konoha when Naruto was constantly harassed by the villagers for something he couldn't control. Was this creature's story the same. It was very clear to the assassin that it was no normal animal, but could it really be a demon, hunted because of what it is, or was there more to it…

Kagetaka shook his head to clear his thoughts, "It doesn't look like a demon to me; just a regular horse."

The man laughed, "Of course not you baka! Do you honestly think I would have gone after a greater demon with just a handful of thugs? No, this is just a lesser demon, which is why it doesn't look like anything other than a regular horse."

"Then why?" Kagetaka demanded, getting more than a little tired of the man's games.

"Power," the man started laughing again, "As soon as the demon seals itself inside me, I will have its power, which will be more than enough to defeat any opponent in my path!"

Kagetaka shook his head, clearly this man didn't know what kind of people there were in this world. "Let me tell you something. I have a friend who is what you are trying to become: a Jinchurriki. He was hated for his entire life because he holds a demon…"

"Like I care," The man interrupted, "people will be too busy fearing me to really hate me and even if they do, it won't bother me in the least."

Kagetaka sighed before continuing, "He was hated because he holds a demon more fearsome than any other. He holds the Kyuubi no Kitsune that attacked Konoha thirteen years ago, and, based on what I saw when last we were together, he can control at least a portion of its chakra, and even he was nearly defeated a while back."

The man's face began to pale slightly. It seemed that he was finally starting to get what Kagetaka was telling him, so the assassin decided to drive the point home, "Besides, the only way you would be able to use any demon's chakra is if they were sealed within you when you were born, that way you chakra coils could grow accustomed to the extra energy. The only thing you would get from sealing a demon into yourself at your age would be an annoying inner voice that constantly criticized and berated you."

The man suddenly seemed to snap, "YOU LIE!" With a feral scream, the Shinobi charged Kagetaka, forcing him to jump back to avoid the ferocious volley of attacks the enraged man sent his way. If it wasn't for his bloodline, Kagetaka would have been beaten and battered relatively quickly. As it was, he was far from unscathed.

The enraged man drew out a pair of Kunai and used them to stab and slash at Kagetaka, catching him a few times but damaging his clothing more often than anything else, as the younger Shinobi worked frantically at dodging while trying to think of a way out of this mess.

Then, he saw an opening and went for it, driving his knee up and into the man's stomach, but receiving a deep slash across his left bicep for his trouble as his opponent stumbled backwards cursing as he went.

"Damn you!" the man said as he struggled to stand again while Kagetaka jumped back, attempting to heal his arm as he went.

The enraged man wouldn't have that though as he began running through hand seals as soon as he managed to stand up, "_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!_"

Kagetaka looked up when he heard the man's voice only to see the gigantic fireball bearing down on him. Before he could even try to move though, there was a flash of bright red flames and the black horse was suddenly standing in front of him, completely healed. With a cry of defiance, the horse almost seemed to glow as the fireball consumed him, only for it to die out almost immediately, leaving the demon completely unharmed.

Then, before either Shinobi could react, there was another flash of flame and the demon was suddenly in front of its former captor. With another neigh, the horse reared up and brought its hooves down onto the man's head, easily splitting his skull open. Then, it turned toward Kagetaka.

Slowly, he drew Reimeiken as the horse approached him, only to have Takagoei fly in and land on his shoulder, effectively preventing him from fighting, -_Kai, relax, he isn't a threat to you._-

Kagetaka nodded hesitantly before sheathing his blade and releasing his assassin persona, getting a slight head rush as his emotions returned to him. The horse seemed completely oblivious to this however as he continued walking toward the young Chunin. Kai stood rock steady, waiting nervously until the demon stopped a mere three feet away from him and turned toward the falcon on Kai's shoulder.

Takagoei seemed to jump slightly before settling again and staring intently back at the demon horse. This continued for several minutes. It was fairly clear to Kai that the two beings were communicating telepathically, but he wished that they would include him in their discussion.

Then, the falcon flinched again and the horse reared up slightly. Kai, fearing for his life, tried to jump back but ended up landing unceremoniously on his butt when the horse brought its head down and almost gently pushed him backward and off balance.

While Kai was still trying to get up, the demon casually trotted to his side and touched his nose to Kai's left shoulder before disappearing in a flash of bright red flame. "Well," Kai said slowly, "that was interesting…"

-_To say the least…_- Takagoei answered, clearly shaken.

"What were you two talking about anyway?" the boy asked his winged companion.

-_I'll tell you later Kai, for now you need to get back on your way again. You still have a long way to travel before the day is done,_- the Falcon answered, neatly avoiding Kai's question, much to his annoyance.

"Fine," Kai said before searching the corpses of his former opponents and taking anything worth taking. That done, Kai formed a quick chain of seals, performing a Jutsu Yue had taught him to repair his clothing, before he turned once again in his previous direction and launched Takagoei into the air with his right arm before setting off into the treetops once again.

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AN: Finally I got chapter 13 done… I am so sorry that it is taking so long. This year has just been kicking my butt with everything that has been happening. Anyway, by the end of next chapter we will see the return of two characters that have been anticipated since their first appearance in What the Future Holds. And if that isn't enough of a hint for you as to who they are, you need to go and re-read my first fic again. lol

Jutsu List:

_Meisaigakure no Jutsu_: Hiding Camouflage Technique

_Karada Bunshin no Jutsu_: Body Clone Technique (Original Jutsu)

_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu_: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

A little BTW, is Takagoei's speech set aside in an easily readable way, or should I change the alternate quotation marks to something other than the dashes? Just answer in a review ; )


	14. Chapter 14

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Chapter 14

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: I'm honestly surprised I didn't get any guesses as to who is returning this chapter… It wasn't as if it was hard. Other than Yue, Ushina, and Hito, there really weren't any other OC's that I introduced in What the Future Holds… Oh well, here's chapter fourteen, I hope you enjoy.

Response to Reviewers:

gaaraXobito: Thanks for the input : )

Silver Shadowbreeze: Oh yes, the horse will be returning. It just may take a few more chaps... but with the way i feel like I'm rushing things it could be as early as next chapter lol. When it returns, I will explain the entire purpose to it being in the story at all, and it goes way back to when I first came up with the idea. : )

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For the rest of the day, Takagoei remained silent aside from the mental nudges to get him back on their correct path. Sometimes, Kai found himself slightly irritated at the fact that he was being led around with little to no control over what he did, but he knew that it was necessary if he was going to defeat Hito.

As the hours passed, Kai had tried without success to get the spirit bird to tell him what the earlier conversation with the demon horse had been about. What could the two immortal beings have talked about that had to be kept such a huge secret?

A few hours before sunset, however, Kai gave up his attempted interrogation and just let the bird fly in peace. When it was time for him to find out, he would find out. If he didn't need to know, then Kai was sure that it wasn't something that would affect his life.

As the sun set, Takagoei steered the young Shinobi to a suitable campsite on the bank of a small stream and offered to take the first watch while Kai slept. The boy gratefully accepted and was out like a light after a quick meal of a ration bar and water from the stream.

Kai swapped out with Takagoei at about two in the morning, allowing the bird some sleep. It had intrigued him at first that the spirit being needed to sleep, but Takagoei had quickly set him straight on the matter. When a spirit being was in the Spirit Realm, it didn't need to eat or sleep, but existing on the Mortal Plane required energy, and they couldn't just absorb it from around them like they did in the Spirit Realm, so they had to eat and sleep just like every other creature.

When the sun rose, Kai found himself in a light doze that Zabuza had taught him to use when he was on a long watch. He was still mostly aware of his surroundings, but his body was basically asleep. It would only take a tiny noise or slightest hint of odd movement to completely rouse him though. His eyes were half lidded when the first rays of the sun pierced the gloom of the early morning and managed to find their way right into Kai's dazed eyes.

"Ahhh!" the boy yelled in shock as his eyes immediately protested the intense light. He clenched them tightly shut jumped slightly, which only lead to him falling flat on his back as he rolled off the log he had been sitting on.

-_I see your ready to go,_- Takagoei said with a small amount of humor in his mind-voice, -_come along, we don't have time to waste_.- With a groan for his slightly stinging eyes and painfully throbbing head, Kai stood slowly and packed his gear before sealing it and scattering the ashes from his campfire the night before. Then, with a small grunt of effort, he launched Takagoei into the air so the bird could catch the early morning wind and direct his path for the day.

The bright light combined with his fall was giving Kai a killer headache, but he still followed Takagoei's instructions when they were given, even if the mind-voice of his companion made his head throb that much more painfully. This day passed much like the day before, only without the fight with the thugs over a demon horse.

Nightfall found Kai once again camped by a stream and setting up for his turn to take the first watch with his head still throbbing painfully as it had been all day. While the falcon slept, Kai grumbled slightly as he found it nearly impossible to slip into his dozing state for his watch. With a sigh of resignation, Kai merely faced away from the fire and into the woods around him with is back to the water, falling back on old techniques to pass the time until his watch was over.

When the flacon finally rose to take his place, Kai was incredibly bored and his head was still hurting. "Isn't there anything you can do?" Kai asked the spirit falcon. Kai had been complaining about his headache all day long, but the bird had declined to comment on it, not even a little light teasing. That only confused the young Shinobi.

After a few moments of staring, Takagoei spoke up, -_I suppose I could try…_- Nothing more was said for several minutes, but the spirit falcon continued to stare intently toward the Chunin who eagerly looked back while wincing every once in a while when his head throbbed particularly painfully.

Then, it stopped. It didn't fade away as Kai had originally thought it might if Takagoei had been able to help, the pain just suddenly cut off. Kai sighed in relief before turning to his partner, "Thank you so much."

If a falcon could look thoughtful, Takagoei would have been pulling it off at that moment, -_Not a problem Kai, now you need to get to sleep. We still have a long way to go._-

Kai wasn't paying attention though; he had already passed out from the weariness of travel combined with the late hours of first watch and the stress of dealing with a killer headache all day long.

----------

The next morning, Kai was woken shortly after sunrise. He quickly ate his ration bar and sealed his things away and was about to stand when his head started hurting again, just as painfully as it had been the night before.

Kai groaned, "Stupid headache is back again…"

Takagoei looked at him for a moment before shaking his head slightly and Kai knew he wasn't going to be getting any help from him. With a sigh, the Shinobi launched his partner into the air before following him off toward their eventually destination, which, as of yet, was still unknown by Kai.

The entire day was spent traveling, although there had been a highlight when Takagoei had spotted a rabbit in a clearing and killed it before sharing it with Kai for lunch… Kai cooked his share of course. The fresh meat had helped to lift the Shinobi's falling spirits, but his head still pounded with each small jolt from jumping through the treetops.

When they camped for the night, Kai had been about to ask for some help with the headache again when it stopped hurting as suddenly as it had started that morning. Nodding his thanks to Takagoei, who, he was too tired to notice, was facing away from him, Kai passed out once more.

----------

The next day was, once again, just like the previous ones, right down to the excruciating headache. As the sun sank down toward the horizon, Kai felt a chakra signature on the very edge of his senses. He came to a sudden stop before dropping out of the treetops and making his way forward at a slower, stealthier pace.

-_Stay below and move up,_- Takagoei said, -_I'll go check ahead and see what's going on._- Kai nodded, although he knew the falcon couldn't see him through the treetops, and continued forward, managing to forget his headache in the small rush of adrenaline he got at the thought of something interesting happening.

As he crept closer, Kai could make out the sound of voices up ahead. As he reached the edge of the trees, Kai looked out on what looked like a farmer's field after harvest. There were clean cut stalks everywhere, showing that the field had been harvested and was ready for winter, and it was filled with dozens of people.

-_Kai, those people aren't just standing around, they've surrounded two people a short distance away from your location._-

Kai nodded again and crept back a few yards before leaping into the trees and once again coming to the edge of the woods. There, around twenty feet from him, was a pair of people with oversized weapons standing calmly while surrounded by what must have been fifty people in fairly ragged clothing. Kai rolled his eyes, 'Bandits,' he thought, 'why does it always have to be bandits?'

As Kai watched, he couldn't help but feel that he knew the two figures standing amongst their assailants. One was a man who stood about six feet tall and was wearing a light brown, short-sleeved shirt with a slightly darker shade of pants on and a dark leather shoulder pad on his left shoulder while a spiked metal shoulder pad was placed over his right shoulder. He stood, staring at the bandits standing around him with an uncaring look on his face with his bracer-clad left arm lazily holding the handle of what looked like a strange sword on his back while the light of the setting sun glinted off of his Kumo Hitai-ate on his right bicep.

The other was a much smaller woman, only about five feet tall, but her oversized scythe she carried more than made up for it. The six foot weapon was resting easily in her hands as she held it before her with the blade near the ground, pointing up to the sky with a pair of bells hanging off the junction of the handle and the bottom of the blade. Kai couldn't see too much of her since the man was in the way and she was facing away from him, but he could see the glint of a Suna Hitai-ate on her left thigh.

Kai knew he had seen these two before, but the question was, where? Then, as these thoughts were racing through his head, the man shifted slightly, revealing a leopard spotted tail protruding from the girl's backside. Kai was bombarded by memories of his escape from Konoha and the two mercenaries who had been sent by Danzo to capture him, but in the end had actually helped him to get away. These two strangers were Kyo and Izumi; although it seemed as though Kyo had changed is look a little.

Kai smiled despite himself. These two were quite the pair if he remembered correctly. He had fought against Kyo while Yue fought Izumi, both of which would have been losing battles if Kyo hadn't called them off after a chance comment Kai had made. The big quirk was that they seemed almost too relaxed outside of battle. Even now, Kai could make out the telltale movements of their lips that showed they were talking to each other while Kyo, whose face was the only one Kai could see, smiled lightly at something Izumi was saying.

Thinking back, he remembered thinking that the two were a little crazy, but they had helped him in the past, and he was going to do what he could to help them now. Thinking quickly, Kai let his eyes sweep the crowed of bandits as they brandished their weapons toward the two mercs and cried out a few taunts, letting his senses follow his gaze, trying to find any chakra signatures larger than those of a regular civilian. When he found nothing, Kai relaxed.

There wasn't a Shinobi anywhere in the ranks of these bandits, a fact that would make Kai's self-appointed job that much easier. As the Chunin began thinking up a plan, a light breeze blew up from behind him, rustling the trees as it swept through the branches and over the field that would undoubtedly grow exceptionally good crops next year if this went the way Kai thought it would.

As Kai watched, Izumi began moving a little, just lifting her head up a bit before she said something to Kyo whose eyes began searching the crowd before him. Kai took this time to slowly raise his chakra levels to a more noticeable point and drew his blade slightly, letting the sunlight glint off of it until he was sure he had caught Kyo's attention. Still moving slowly, Kai replaced his blade and slowly brought his finger to his lips with a smile.

Kyo leaned back slightly and said something to Izumi who suddenly spun around, easily shifting her grip on her scythe so she was holding it with just one hand and staring straight at Kai in his hiding spot. Then, before Kai could react, she shouted in an overly cheerful voice, "HI KAI-KUN!"

----------

Kyo didn't know how exactly he and Izumi had gotten themselves into this situation. One second they had been standing at the edge of the forest, watching the sunset together, and the next they had been ambushed and surrounded by a bunch of civilian bandits who kept complaining that the mercenaries had killed their leader.

It was true of course, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He and Izumi had been given a mission to help the local law enforcement take care of a group of bandits who had moved into the area recently. So, he and Izumi, in their usual fashion, had snuck into their camp at night and killed the leader along with anyone who was not a prisoner and had chakra levels higher than those of a civilian.

Apparently that was a reason for the remaining bandits to get mad at them.

"I told you we should have killed them all Kyo-kun," Izumi said with mock-anger in her voice, "but no, you wanted to leave some of them alive since they weren't a real threat."

Kyo rolled his eyes and sighed lightly, "I already said I was sorry Izumi-chan, what more do you want?"

This seemed to be exactly what she had been waiting for, "Welllll," she stretched the word out playfully before continuing, "you could promise to take me out to eat tonight after we clean up."

"Alright, where to?" Kyo asked, almost instantly knowing where she would want to go.

"Wellllll, there is that little restaurant in town that I wanted to go to the other day…."

Kyo rolled his eyes, she had wanted to go and he had said no, mostly because it was the most expensive restaurant in the town. He sighed, "Alright Izumi-chan, after we collect our pay for the mission we can go eat there."

"Oh, thank you Kyo-kun!" Izumi was practically bouncing in place and only her battle instincts kept her from doing so and from speaking beyond the light whisper that they were both using while surrounded as they were. Kyo smiled, it wouldn't do for the bandits to hear about them planning a date for later on, they might get mad again.

The wind began to pick up as the bandits stood around them, brandishing their makeshift weapons, although a few had raided the tents of their deceased comrades and leader and managed to find some better ones. Then, as a breeze wound its way across the field, Izumi perked up, sniffing the air delicately, "There's someone else here Kyo-kun," she said, all humor lost from her voice now that another unknown had been added, "it's hard to really tell over all the other people but… It almost seems familiar…"

The Shinobi began searching the crowd in front of him in the direction the wind had come from. He looked over them with a casual look on his face before a glint of light caught his eye. He then saw a figure crouching in the treetops behind the bandits. And after a moment more of thought, he realized who it was.

Kyo leaned his head back slightly while still keeping a wary eye on the men around him, "Hey Izumi-chan, do you remember that mission in Konoha to find that kid that we took a while ago?"

He could almost hear the gears turning in Izumi's head until she suddenly gasped and jumped around, turning toward the trees, her eyes immediately sliding to Kai's location, "HI KAI-KUN!"

----------

Kai nearly fell out of his tree when Izumi spoke. As it was, he still nearly did when over half of the bandits in the field turned to glare at his now revealed position. Sighing, Kai stepped to the edge of his branch and out of the shadows provided by the leaves before standing up, "Hi Izumi, Kyo, how are you two doing today?"

"Oh not too bad, you?" Izumi responded, still seeming cheerfully ignorant of the seething mass of people around them all, although Kai somehow doubted that that was the case.

"Never been better," Kai said with a shrug as he shifted his stance into a more casual one to mimic the two mercs standing in the clearing, seeing the maddening effect this casual conversation was having on the bandits.

"That's good to hear," Izumi continued with a huge smile as she almost bounced in place. Kai took a moment and noticed that, like Kyo, she had changed her outfit slightly. She was still wearing the same tan split-skirt with bandages wrapped around her torso, covering parts of the harness straps for her scythe that crossed over from her back. She was also wearing the same high boots that she had before, but her shin and arm guards from before were nowhere to be found.

"Who the hell are you?" one man near Kai shouted in rage.

Kai managed to feign a look of surprise, "Me?" he said in his best Kakashi impression.

"Who the hell else would I be talking to?"

"Well," He said before deciding to take his Kakashi act further and squatting down to look at the man with his eyes half closed, "you were staring at those two over there, so you could be talking to them."

The bandit growled, but couldn't seem to think of a response to Kai, so the Shinobi stood again and addressed the mercenaries, "So, do you two need any help or anything?"

Kyo spoke for the first time, "Honestly Kai? I'm hurt you would even think such a thing. There's only… what… forty…fifty… maybe sixty of them? We can take care of it."

"Oh," Kai nodded, still managing to keep his voice disinterested, although it was getting harder to fight down his laughter, "well in that case, do you mind if I watch then?"

"Oh, by all means," Izumi said cheerfully, "be our guest." She finished with a peace sign before flinging one of her arms around Kyo's neck and planting a kiss on his cheek.

That was what set the bandits off.

"DAMMIT!" one of them shouted from across the clearing, "STOP IGNORING US!"

With that shout, the men's collective hesitation snapped. They had been unconsciously afraid to attack the Shinobi who had managed to infiltrate their camp and kill their boss and elites, but in their rage, they overcame their fear and charged.

Kai received a warning from his bloodline and twisted in time to dodge a rock that one of the men had thrown at him. The Chunin shook his head sadly, vaguely noticing the lack of pain from his headache. He couldn't fight these guys, they were just too pathetic.

But after being forced to dodge another rock, Kai sighed in resignation. Taking the first opportunity he saw, he leapt down from his perch and landed on the back of one of the bandits that was facing Kyo and Izumi, easily driving the man into the dirt. Kai immediately ducked down and planted his hands on the man's shoulders before kicking his feet up and spinning on his hands, kicking several bandits who had turned toward him when he had taken down their comrade.

Once he regained his feet, Kai turned to his left and launched himself forward, landing a strong right hook to the face of another bandit who hadn't noticed him yet. Apparently most of them still wanted to fight Kyo and Izumi and so they didn't see him as being quite as important.

Then, a huge wave of chakra knocked over nearly every bandit between him and the two mercenaries and Kai suddenly knew why they weren't paying attention to him.

----------

As soon as the bandits charged, Kyo easily hefted his oversized kunai-like sword, Goryu, out of the harness on his back with his right hand and swung it around in front of him, easily decapitating several men who got too close. Then, when more of the bandits tried to take advantage of his apparently un-defended position, he showed his strength by easily reversing the huge weapon's momentum and brought it back across, killing even more of them on the backswing.

Then Kyo felt a chill run down his spine and turned in time to see Izumi surrounded in an aura of blood red chakra. Kyo cursed silently, realizing what had happened. Izumi's bloodlust had gotten the better of her again. It had been so long since they had had a good fight that her instincts were overwhelming her control.

"Shit," Kyo cursed just as a huge pulse of chakra spread from his partner and floored over half the bandits in the field. The ones that didn't get knocked down by the chakra pulse ended up falling after they felt the killing intent pouring off the red haired girl in waves. If Kyo hadn't been so used to it, he would have been in the same condition.

The Shinobi was forced to turn back as his battle-hardened instincts told him he was still in danger. Cursing again, Kyo spun back around in time to block a clumsy attack with a worn wood cutting axe before kicking the bandit back. He had to take care of these bandits before Izumi got too out of control…

----------

Kai watched as Izumi stood there with a feral smile on her face as her eyes glowed blood red with her chakra whipping around her with an almost animalistic quality. The only time he had seen anything like this was when Naruto had first used the Kyuubi chakra on the bridge in Wave Country, but somehow this seemed much more… potent than then.

Suddenly, Izumi's head snapped around and faced Kai, and the Chunin knew he was in trouble. With as much speed as he could, Kai formed a chain of seals and deactivated his weights just as Izumi spun her scythe over her head, her visible chakra dissipating in the process, and charged toward Kai with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. As soon as she got within striking range, she swung her weapon toward Kai, intending to remove his head from his shoulders.

Quickly responding to the unnecessary warning from his Miraigan, Kai dropped flat to the ground, letting the deadly blade fly over his head before jumping back to his feat and leaping away from the frenzied form of Izumi, drawing Reimeiken in the process.

It was a good thing he did. Izumi was on him immediately, swinging her scythe in a smooth flow that constantly kept Kai on the defensive. And the really unnerving part was that she was giggling the entire time. "Come on," she said between laughs, "Don't you want to see what your guts look like?"

Kai brought Reimeiken up and locked the katana with the oversized blade of the scythe and winced at the strength behind the blow. Izumi was much, much stronger than he was. When that was added onto the already overwhelming size of her weapon, Kai knew he was in trouble.

Izumi's face took on a serene, if slightly creepy, smile as she stared at Kai over their deadlocked weapons, showing a small pair of fangs that were, once again, similar to those that Naruto had while under the influence of the Kyuubi. Her smile quickly changed to a playful pout, "Oh, why do you have to ruin my fun?" the Kunoichi then pushed Kai away with seemingly little effort, forcing Kai to flip backwards on his free hand, picking up a small stone as he pushed off the ground.

As soon as Kai regained his feet, he tossed his makeshift projectile toward Izumi and ran in right behind it. Izumi saw the stone coming and swiped it easily away with a one-handed swing of her scythe, seemingly unaware of Kai's elbow heading straight for her. At the last second though, Izumi brought her free hand up and caught the attack, somehow stopping all Kai's momentum without moving back herself.

"Not bad," she smiled again with a feral glint in her eye, "but you're going to have to do better than that." With another giggle, Izumi casually tossed Kai back over her shoulder where he roughly landed before rolling to a stop, somehow managing to keep his blade during the tumble.

Kai groaned as he forced himself up, glancing around at the mayhem around him… or at least the mayhem around Kyo. It may have had something to do with the demented look on her face, but for some reason the bandits had decided to avoid Izumi at all costs and were all currently trying to mob the other half of the mercenary pair. It didn't look like there would be any kind of help coming from that direction any time soon.

Before he could think any further on the subject of Kyo, he felt the telltale tingle of warning and leapt to the side just in time to dodge a strike that would have cleaved him cleanly in half. "Oh come on!" Izumi shouted, pouting again, "I just want to have a little fun. Is it so much to ask for you to hold still while I disembowel you?"

If the situation hadn't been so serious, Kai would have hit the ground in a faceplant. He certainly hoped that Izumi wasn't like this all the time, and he felt sorry for Kyo if she was. Kai shook himself, "Well then why don't you go disembowel some of those bandits then? I'm sure they would be more than happy to play along with you."

Izumi's smile turned even more feral, if that was at all possible, "Oh, but they can't move nearly as well as you can. It wouldn't be nearly as much fun or as gratifying in the end." Kai was then forced to dodge back as Izumi leapt forward with another horizontal slice.

This continued for several more minutes. Izumi would charge with a flurry of slashes, Kai would either dodge or block all of them, and then Izumi would fall back for a second to re-evaluate her position. Each time she paused, Izumi would come up with a new strategy and every sequence of attacks was very different from the one before. And each time she paused, Kai struggled to catch his breath. He was no match for the older, more experienced fighter, and he knew that if this went on for too much longer, he wouldn't survive.

----------

Kyo grunted with effort as he once again brought Goryu around and killed the next group of bandits who had gotten within his range. He didn't like fighting like this, but there wasn't any real option at this point. If he had his way, all his fights would be one on one, or one on a few, where he could focus on his offense and keep his opponents guessing with his somewhat unpredictable sword style.

This kind of fighting just didn't sit right with him: when you had dozens of enemies around you, brandishing their weapons in a way that limited your movement space if you wanted to stay uninjured, while a few brave ones occasionally charged you, trying to catch you off guard. On top of that, it took way to freaking long, and since Izumi was undoubtedly trying to kill an old friend, he didn't have any time to waste.

With a frustrated sigh, Kyo removed the heads of a few more bandits before using the momentum of his swing to bring Goryu around to its harness on his back. While many of the bandits smirked, thinking he had given up, Kyo reached into a hidden pocket on the padded bracer he wore on his left forearm and withdrew a few senbon needles. He quickly split them among his hands and held them between his fingers so they wouldn't interfere with his movements as much. Then, still holding the needles, he formed a quick chain of seals before smirking at the bandits around him, "_Hyoton: Kongouseki Shippuu!_"

Kyo flung his hands to his sides, releasing the senbon as he did and felt the slight pull on his chakra. All around him, needles of ice were formed out of the humid evening air and flew away from him, showering the bandits with a storm of deadly projectiles.

Kyo sighed as he straightened again and looked around. The number of bandits had been reduced by more than half. He twisted his neck, hearing a satisfying crack as he did so before reaching over to pull Goryu once more from his back, "Now that I have a little more breathing room, who's next?"

----------

Kai gasped as Izumi's scythe made a thin cut on the back of his right hand. It seemed as though she had only been playing with him before, because now she was moving faster than ever, and the light, albeit somewhat crazy, smile had left her face, only to be replaced by a determined frown. He had been unable to completely avoid her last several attacks and his body showed the proof in the form of several razor thin cuts all over him.

With as sudden bump, Kai realized that he had been backed into a large tree at the edge of the forest. Izumi's smile returned, "And now, even though it's been fun, it's time to end this."

The cat-girl lifted her scythe over her head and moved to bring it down onto Kai's head, but the young Chunin wasn't going to go down like that. Moving as quickly as possible, Kai lifted Reimeiken up and, with the help of a little chakra, managed to block the descending blade, stopping it several inches from his head.

Izumi humphed as she strained against the sword, "You're no fun! Stop being a party pooper!" They continued fighting against each other for several more seconds before Izumi jumped back with another smile on her face. "Fine," she said, "if that's how you want to be, then I'll have to take it up another notch."

Kai paled, he was already beaten at her current level. He didn't know if he could take anything else. But somehow, he didn't think Izumi cared. Kai watched with bated breath as Izumi's chakra once again became visible around her before focusing on her scythe. Then, suddenly, the blade of the huge weapon burst into flame that quickly traveled down the shaft, not seeming to burn the wielder.

"Let's see how you handle this," she said as she swung at him again. Kai once again blocked the descending blade with Reimeiken, but this time, the extra power Izumi had charged her weapon with was forcing him down to his knees. Kai watched, helpless to stop her as Izumi's smile grew again as she continued to push against him, slowly pressing her scythe blade closer and closer to Kai's head.

Then, when the blade was less than an inch away, Izumi's smile broke into a light airy laugh, "Goodbye." Kai could feel her pouring more of her fire chakra into her blade and watched as the flames jumped from her blade to Reimeiken.

Kai forced down a scream of pain as the flames traveled the length of the blade and engulfed his hands and forearms shortly after his sword. Then, just as suddenly as the pain began, it stopped. Kai opened his eyes that he had shut against the pain to see that the flames were still there, they just didn't hurt anymore. In fact, they were almost cool to the touch. It was then that Kai noticed the crystal on the pommel of his blade was glowing once again, this time with a deep red light.

----------

Kyo knew he was running out of time when he felt a huge surge in Izumi's chakra, telling him she was pulling out her favorite technique while she was under the influence of her bloodlust rage. He growled in anger as he glared at the half-dozen remaining bandits. "I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE TIME TO WASTE ON YOU BASTARDS!" Kyo shouted, leaping forward with a savage swing of Goryu, removing the arms of one unlucky bandit who didn't get out of his way.

He had to finish this now. He just hoped he would be in time.

----------

Izumi seemed slightly confused as the crystal on Reimeiken began glowing. The glow then quickly spread to engulf the entire blade, slowly extinguishing the flames as they went. When Kai's hands were revealed, they were very badly burned, and Kai had no idea why he wasn't still in terrible pain, but he didn't want to think about that now.

A much more important topic was what was going on with Reimeiken. It wasn't until the blade began to stretch out that Kai figured it out. Somehow, Izumi's fire chakra had reacted with his own chakra within Reimeiken and unlocked the Katon form of the blade.

Kai watched with bated breath as the handle lengthened until it was longer than the entire sword had been and stretched halfway up the back of the blade before it turned a deep red-orange color with a few spiraling designs that looked like they might be in silver. Meanwhile, the blade was widening and stretching itself before taking on a slight hook and bending down until it was perpendicular to the handle. The final touch came when the crystal from the pommel of the sword blinked into life, resting at the top of what Kai now recognized as a scythe, just behind the blade while.

Now Kai found himself in an unusual position. He was on his knees, having been forced there by a strangely violent Izumi, who had her scythe mere fractions of an inch away from piercing his skull while being held back by Kai's sword which had just finished transforming into a scythe itself. Izumi was staring at him in confusion, as if waiting for him to explain what was going on.

Kai decided to take advantage of her confusion and grunted as he used all the strength he could to push the Kunoichi away from him, making her stumble backwards before falling to the ground, giving off a slight squeak of surprise as she landed. "HEY!" she suddenly shouted, pointing at Kai with a dumbfounded look on her face, "I'm the one with the really big scythe! No fair copying me!"

Kai had gone from a slightly unusual position, to a much more dangerous one. He was now staring at Izumi as she pointed accusingly at him, both of them sitting on the ground about seven feet apart, but still within range if Izumi decided to attack him. Not only that, but he was holding a weapon that he had no idea how to use against someone who obviously knew exactly how to use it.

Izumi seemed to pause for a moment before making up her mind and climbing back to her feet, "I'll show you what I do to people who copy me!" Once again, Izumi lifted her scythe to bring it down upon him and end his life.

Is this how it was going to end? Cut down by someone who he had thought to be a friend, although now that he thought about it, Kai really didn't know too much about either of the mercenaries.

He was saved at the last minute though when a pair of heavily muscled arms wrapped their way around Izumi, effectively preventing her from bringing the blade down. "Calm down, Izumi-chan," Kyo said softly, "or else you may end up killing Kai."

Izumi visibly relaxed before sighing and snuggling back into Kyo's embrace as her face lost its crazed look, "Kyo-kun, what are you… OHMYGODKAI!" Izumi screamed the last part and dropped her scythe before rushing over to Kai's side, knocking Kyo down in the process.

"Kai-kun, are you hurt?" Izumi asked with genuine concern written on her face, a far cry from the vicious look she had sported only a few short minutes ago.

Kai couldn't help but roll his eyes, but it turned into a wince as his adrenaline ran out and the pain in his hands returned full force, along with his headache. "No Izumi," he managed to choke out through the pain and resisting the urge to groan with the return of his headache, "I'm not hurt at all. Ignore the severe burns, numerous cuts, and obvious signs of exhaustion as they are merely figments of your imagination."

"Oh, good," Izumi seemed genuinely relieved, "for a moment I thought that I had…" She paused for a moment before suddenly punching him in the shoulder, "BAKA!"

Kai fell over with the force of the blow, dropping Reimeiken as he fell, It wasn't that the punch had been very hard, he was just that worn out. Izumi immediately apologized again and helped him back to his sitting position before turning to Kyo, "We have to help him Kyo-kun."

Kyo smiled and rolled his eyes as he climbed back to his feet, "First thing on the list Izumi-chan."

With that said, Kyo walked over to Kai's side and moved to pick him up, but Kai shook his head, "My sword, I can't leave it…" Kyo could tell that he was on his last legs and was barely keeping himself conscious.

Kyo looked entreatingly at Izumi who giggled for a moment at him before bending down and picking up Reimeiken, which was now back in its original form, although there was still a dimming red glow coming from the crystal. "This is a very strange sword," Izumi said, examining the blade carefully, "It has an energy within it the likes of which I have never felt before."

"We'll deal with it later Izumi-chan," Kyo said, moving carefully to shift Kai around to what he hoped was a more comfortable position for both of them, "for now let's just get him back to our hotel."

Izumi just nodded before moving next to Kyo and easily sliding the sword back into its home in the sheath on Kai's back. Just as the two started to move toward the nearby village and their hotel, they heard a screech from above. Both Shinobi ducked instinctively as a shadow passed over them, but Kai smiled lightly from his position, "Takagoei," he said weakly, "where have you been?"

With that, Kai passed out, shortly before a pure white falcon swooped down and, backwinging gently, landed on his chest, lightly using his talons to grip the Chunin's vest before sitting down. The falcon gave Kyo a look that clearly said, 'Well, what are you waiting for? Let's get going.' Before it began staring down at Kai's face.

Kyo looked over to Izumi, very uncomfortable with having the bird of prey perched so near his face. But Izumi wasn't paying attention to him. She was more interested in the bird, and from the look of wonder on her face, it was no ordinary bird.

"Kyo," Izumi breathed softly, "do you know what that is?"

Kyo rolled his eyes, very afraid to move for fear of the wickedly hooked beak very close to him, "A falcon?"

"Not just a falcon," Izumi said with a strange smile, "A guardian spirit in the form of a falcon, it's probably bonded to Kai or his family since it has a solid form like that."

"And that means…?" Kyo prompted.

Izumi gave a frustrated sigh, "It means that the bird isn't going to hurt you unless you take too long getting Kai back to our room. He is healing Kai now, but it's going to be a very slow process unless we get him some traditional medical treatment, and I can't do that in the middle of a blood-soaked field."

Kyo watched as Izumi turned and retrieved her scythe before placing it in its harness on her back and starting for the village without looking back. The Shinobi sighed before following her, still somewhat wary of the bird Kai had called 'Takagoei.' Between the shapeshifting sword and the strange falcon, Kyo didn't know what to think of this boy that seemed to be the same kid he had helped to escape Konoha so many months ago. He knew one thing for sure though; he would have a lot of explaining to do when he woke up.

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AN: I'm so so so so so so sooooooo sorry this chapter took so long. Like I said last chapter, this year has really been kicking my butt and the last few weeks have only added on more troubles. To sum it all up in a few words, I now have an EX-girlfriend. Its WAAAAAY more complicated than that, but let's just leave it simple for the sake of my sanity : )

That out of the way, you can give all the credit for my sudden return of inspiration and removal of my writer's block to Silver Shadowbreeze and his fic Konoha no Taka: Ririku. With the posting of his newest chapter, I was given the inspiration to write the fight scene in this one. If you haven't read it yet, you should.

So there you have it. The new/old characters were Kyo and Izumi, who were definitely fun to bring back into the story (especially Izumi and her funniness lol). BTW, in the next week or so, I should be posting some more pics on my Deviant Art Account (Tenstar12). This time, they are pics of Kyo and Izumi drawn by their creators (my younger brother (Momotaro Kyo) and his girlfriend (Akra Izumi (on ))) : )

And just to cut you off now, Izumi is NOT a Jinchurriki. That question was already asked at the end of What the Future Holds and the answer is no different. : )

Jutsu List:

_Hyoton: Kongouseki Shippuu: _Ice Style: Diamond Hurricaine (Original Jutsu by Momotaro Kyo)

With any luck, the next chapter won't take so long. I'm hoping to have this done by the end of May since I'm going off on my summer job again and won't have much time to work on it.

Don't for get to leave a review (Izumi gives readers teary eyed stare) pweeeeeeeze!


	15. Chapter 15

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Chapter 15

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: This chapter is incredibly short but it had to be stopped where it is, enjoy.

Response to Reviewers:

Insufficient Plz: I let my brother read your review and it made him a little mad that Kyo didn't get any props but Izumi did lol. Thanks for the compliment on the fight scene, it took a lot of doing to get it to work the way I wanted it to.

Silver Shadowbreeze: This chapter explains everything about Izumi's past that I could possibly think of, including how she knows about guardian spirits and the answer to your question from the end of What the Future Holds about what exactly she is. : )

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Kai woke all at once, the constant throbbing of his never-ending headache hitting him hard for a second before slowly fading down to a dull ache, the weakest he had felt it since it started. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a fairly comfortable, albeit small, bed in what looked like a regular hotel room. Then he noticed his bandaged hands that stung slightly when he tried to move them.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Kai whipped his head to his left and saw the brightly smiling, if somewhat guilty looking, face of Izumi sitting in a chair next to his bed. "Huh?" Kai replied stupidly, "Wha…What…" Then he remembered the battle and shuddered.

Izumi was instantly on her feet, "I am so so so so so so so so so so so sorry Kai-kun. I really didn't mean to hurt you, honest. I just…kinda… lost control of myself…"

"He's going to need more of an explanation than that Izumi-chan," Kyo said as he walked into the room.

Izumi looked slightly hesitant at first and looked at Kyo with an almost desperate look on her face. Kyo just sighed, "Izumi, look at him. His best friend is a Jinchurriki for the most powerful Biju ever to walk the earth, he is being pursued by a guy who has lived for centuries, he has a shape-shifting sword and a spirit falcon. I think he has seen enough so that he won't be to terribly upset by hearing your history."

Izumi still seemed hesitant, but she nodded, "I guess your right Kyo-kun… and I guess I did promise him an explanation the next time we met…" Kai had to think about that for a moment before remembering their meeting in Konoha. After Kyo had stopped Izumi from killing Yue, the cat-girl had given Yue some of her chakra, apparently enough to fully restore her, and had not looked at all winded. Izumi had, in fact, promised Kai that she would explain herself the next time they met. She just probably hadn't been expecting it to happen… or more likely she forgot about it.

Seeming to make up her mind, Izumi hopped up from her chair and flopped down onto the edge of the bed next to Kai, bouncing him slightly and making him wince. Kyo just rolled his eyes and took her seat before gesturing for Izumi to start off. "Well," she said, "I was born on the edge Suna territory. Kaa-san was an ANBU captain in Suna named Motosua Katara, I took her family name, and Tou-san…" She paused for a moment before looking over at Kai with a slightly anxious look on her face.

Kai just waited patiently, trying to let her know that he wouldn't judge her based on her past without actually saying so since he feared that if he had said anything she may not be willing to continue. It was fairly obvious to the Chunin that this was hard for her.

Finally, she took a deep breath and continued, "Tou-san's name was Mikage; he was a leopard demon." Izumi seemed to hold her breath after this, as if waiting for Kai to start yelling at her.

Instead, he nodded in understanding, "Well, I guess that explains the ears, tail, and chakra then. You're a hanyo." When Izumi stared at him with a surprised look, he just chuckled, "Izumi, like Kyo said, Naruto is a Jinchurriki for the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the most powerful demon to come to the mortal plane, and I don't treat him like a monster. The way I see it, you're just the same except your power comes from your blood that you inherited from your Tou-san while Naruto's comes from the demon sealed within him."

Izumi was slightly stunned for a moment before lunging forward and wrapping Kai in a bone-crushing hug, "Thank you so much for understanding Kai-kun."

Kai, however, couldn't breathe, "IZUMI…..AIR!"

"AHHH!" she jumped back, "Sorry…. I just kinda get over emotional sometimes…"

"I hadn't noticed," Kai said with a sarcastic smile. Kyo just rolled his eyes before gesturing for Izumi to continue again.

The hanyo nodded, "Anyway, Tou-san and Kaa-san had kept their relationship secret for a long time, but eventually she got pregnant. From what I know, there were a lot of questions as to who the father was, but she managed to keep everyone off of Tou-san's trail until a little while after I was born. A few of her friends obviously noticed when she gave birth and returned to active duty, but they didn't know what had happened to the baby, me.

"They followed her one day when she left Suna after a mission and saw her greeting Tou-san outside the lair in his human form. When they felt his chakra, they knew what he was and ran back to Suna to inform the Kazekage. That man has an irrational hatred for demons and he sent nearly every ANBU in Suna out to kill them both… and me…"

Izumi paused for a moment before taking a deep breath, obviously fighting back tears, "They caught Kaa-san off guard outside the lair and killed her. When Tou-san heard the sounds of battle and found her… she was his true mate… he went into a rage when he saw her body… He lost control of his power and shifted into his demon form, a giant leopard with black wings. He managed to kill all the attacking ANBU before he died himself from all his wounds.

"I didn't find out about all this until years later though. I was rescued by… a Shinobi with no allegiances to any village and she and her assistant raised me. I never knew anything about my parents and all I had to remind me of who they might have been was my mother's Hitai-ate," she gestured to the Hitai-ate tied to her leg, "although I didn't know that that's what it was at the time. When I turned six, one of my father's people came to me and started to teach me to use my limited demonic abilities along with several things about the immortal plane, where your falcon friend comes from. When I turned twelve, he gave me my scythe, Katsuya, after telling me who my parents were and what happened to them…"

Izumi didn't seem like she was going to be able to talk too much longer, so Kyo picked up where she left off, "About that time, I was living in Kumo as a Genin fresh out of the academy. I was a bit of an outcast between my personality, my freakishly large weapon, "he smirked at this, "and my status as an orphan. While Izumi was learning to use her powers and her scythe, I was learning that being a Shinobi was not all it was cracked up to be. After two more years of dealing with Kumo's 'we're superior' crap, I decided I had had enough."

"What do you mean?" Kai asked when Kyo paused for breath.

Kyo sighed, "Kumo Shinobi liked to pretend that they were the 'good guys' and all the other villages were the 'bad guys' since they took 'bad' missions: assassinations and all that. Of course Kumo took those missions as well, but they were kept secret from the regular citizens and lower ranking Shinobi. I found out the hard way and decided to leave that hypocritical place. I got my Shinobi status formerly revoked, although I managed to keep my Hitai-ate, and set out as a mercenary at the ripe old age of fourteen."

Izumi was perking up a little bit and jumped back into her story, "At the same time, not too far away, I was leaving my sensei and her assistant. I had decided that I needed to do some more learning on my own, without them to rely on like I had my entire life. I managed to get into a little bit of trouble though…"

Kyo snorted, "She ran into a bunch of slavers who decided that a little girl couldn't possibly use the huge scythe she was carrying and that her ears and tail would make her more valuable. She was surrounded by a few dozen of them when I came across them."

Izumi shuddered, remembering the looks of greed and lust on the men's faces, "I was doing alright on my own…"

"She was backed into a corner with four Chunin-level Shinobi preparing to hit her with a Jutsu that would have knocker her out."

Izumi glared at Kyo before returning, "I was doing ALRIGHT, when Kyo jumped in and killed the Shinobi before landing next to me."

"Unfortunately for me," Kyo continued, "the shock of my arrival was enough to send her into a bloodlust rage, like what happened to you Kai." The mercenary closed his eyes before shuddering slightly, "As much as I love her now, I still get the creeps when I remember the look she gave me before smiling and easily dancing around the area, beheading and disemboweling all the slavers one after another, SINGING, while I stood there with a stupid look on my face.

"When she had finished all of them off, she walked over to me. I thought I she was going to kill me too, but all she did was drop her scythe and start crying on my shoulder. Long story short, once she calmed down, we got to talking and she decided to come along with me."

Izumi had a dreamy look on her face as she stared into the space, "Yeah… those were the days. Back when we were young, innocent… kinda, and there weren't so many people who knew our names and reputations…"

Kyo smiled as well, "That was six years ago. We officially 'got together' about four months after we partnered up when we realized that I could bring her out of her bloodlust rages without her killing me too."

Izumi blushed slightly, "Basically, he is my true mate; the one being that demons, and hanyo, look for their entire lives, but only a few are lucky enough to find." She gave Kyo a smile before jumping up and flinging herself at him, nearly knocking his chair back in the process.

After a few seconds, Kai cleared his throat lightly to remind them that he was still in the room. They broke apart with a small blush before Izumi spun around and planted herself in Kyo's lap, wrapping one arm around his neck to hold her in place, "So, what's up with you Kai-kun? How have you been since you left Konoha?"

Kai gave a weak smile, "Well, I'm afraid my story is a little longer than yours was…"

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"So basically your winged buddy was leading you to your next potential sensei and you found us?" Izumi asked once Kai had finished his story.

"Pretty much," Kai said with a nod.

"So, Izumi teaches you to use your scythe, I help you with your Zanbato, we throw whatever else in we can think of in the process, and in the meantime you join up with us and lend your skills as an assassin to help us on our missions?" Kyo asked, smiling slightly.

"If you'll have me," Kai said, slightly worried about them turning him down.

Kyo sighed, "I have no problem with that, but you may regret having Izumi teach you anything. She inherited more than her ears and tail from her Tou-san you know."

Kai shuddered when he saw Izumi's feral smile stretch across her face. "Oh don't worry Kai-kun," she said sweetly, "I won't work you too hard." She gave him a thumbs up before jumping up and walking to the door, "I'm gonna go get us something to eat, don't do anything fun till I get back."

Kai sweatdropped, "has she always been this… eccentric…?"

Kyo laughed, "Don't worry Kai, you'll get used to it after a few months. So, how are you feeling?"

Kai paused for a moment, "Well I can almost feel the pain in my hands again and… Damn it… my stupid headache is back up at full strength too…"

Kyo laughed, recalling what the young Chunin had said about his never-ending headache earlier, "I'm sure Izumi can figure out what it means Kai. She may be a little strange, but she's an excellent medic."

Kai smiled at his new sensei before letting out a yawn. Kyo immediately reached over to Kai's bedside table and picked up a glass with a clear liquid in it, "And now it's time for you to follow Dr. Izumi's orders and take your medicine and go to sleep."

Kai nodded and drank as Kyo brought the glass to his mouth before he let out another yawn, feeling the medicine take effect almost immediately and knock him out.

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The following week passed fairly quickly for Kai. Between Kyo and Izumi, they managed to get Kai healed enough to move again and the three set off for another town where they had heard of a potential job offer. This was the life the two mercs led. They would travel around, living off the land as much as possible, and taking jobs where they found them. Training practically all the time to keep their skills in top form but still finding time for a relaxing trip to a hot spring or something every once in a while.

Kai found that he really enjoyed traveling with the two mercenaries, even though Izumi was a little weird and Kyo's stoic attitude made him unlike anyone he had met before, they managed to balance each other out in a way that made them fun to be around.

Their lifestyle took a little getting used to, but once Kai had fit into their schedule he found that he really enjoyed it… or at least he would have been able to enjoy it if his headache would ever go away. It had been over a week since it started, but the incessant pain just wouldn't end and nothing Izumi tried would do anything to stop it. It never failed to stop at night and any time he was fighting in a life-or-death situation though, although with their reputations, very few people tried to attack Kyo and Izumi and those who did were quickly shown the error in their ways.

To make things even more confusing, Kai had a sneaking suspicion that Takagoei, and maybe even Kyo and Izumi, knew what was causing the pain, but none of them would tell him. On top off all of that, he had begun having strange dreams almost nightly where he was in his mindscape and someone, or something, was trying to talk to him, but he couldn't quite understand what they were saying.

Kai was unable to dwell on any of this though, because as soon as he was deemed fit to train by 'doctor' Izumi, he was run through his paces, both with and without his weights and bloodline, by both of his new sensei. Once they had figured out where he was at physically and mentally, they started his training.

As it turned out, Kyo knew quite a bit about seals and sealing techniques, so he passed that along to Kai while learning a bit himself thanks to Kai's knowledge from Hito's old memories. Along with sealing, Kyo also taught Kai more of how to fight with his oversized weapon and continued what Haku had started with using senbon needles.

Izumi taught Kai how to fight with his scythe, although her method of teaching seemed to revolve around showing him a move over and over before suddenly attacking him in such a way that he had to use the recently demonstrated move to keep himself from being killed. It was brutal, but effective, and the injuries he received from her led straight into the other lessons he was getting from her, medical Jutsu. The pressure points he had learned from Haku certainly helped him, but Izumi took it much farther than Haku ever had.

In his defense, Haku had known quite a bit about medicine, but Izumi seemed to possess more than double Haku's knowledge on the subject, and seemed determined to pass as much as she could on to Kai who, with his above average chakra control, definitely had the potential to learn the majority of what she could teach him even if his chakra limitations kept him from using them for more than small injuries if he still wanted to be able to function afterward.

And so Kai fell into a steady routine. He would travel with Kyo and Izumi, helping them on their missions as Kagetaka, and training any time they weren't traveling or having a day off.

This lasted until two months after he joined…

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"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! DEAR KAMI MAKE IT STOP!" Kai had woken to the throbbing in his head feeling worse than anything he had experienced thus far. It felt like his very skull was being split apart before being re-sealed and split again.

"Kai!" Izumi was immediately at his side, leaving a groggy Kyo to catch up. It was about four in the morning and the three Shinobi-mercenaries were camping in the middle of nowhere, on their way to another village that had requested their assistance. If Kyo and Izumi had been a high-ranked mercenary pair before, when word got out that they had added an assassin to their group, especially Kagetaka, who had managed to get his own small reputation in his short time with Zabuza, they were called in for jobs even more often than before.

Up to this point, Kai's headache had become so much of a constant in his life that the Chunin had learned to ignore it and even functioned normally despite it, but this new pain was just too much to ignore.

"Kai," Izumi called again, her hand glowing with healing chakra as she tried to calm the boy down. But Kai was thrashing wildly as his head throbbed in pain that was slowly spreading down his neck and through the rest of his body. It seemed to the boy as though something was tearing him apart from the inside.

Izumi turned to Kyo, "Disable him before he hurts himself!" Kyo nodded before walking to Kai's other side and hitting a pressure point on his neck, knocking him unconscious, although his eyes were still scrunched up in pain.

Kyo groaned as his still tired body complained again at being woken this early, "Is this the end of it Izumi? Is that stupid thing finally done with him?"

"As far as I can tell, yes," Izumi responded before looking up at the white falcon perched over their heads, "tell him to hurry the fuck up before he drives Kai mad with the pain."

-_I'll do what I can,_- the falcon said before staring intently at Kai, who was still lying unconscious but still tense as the pain shot through his entire body.

Izumi sighed, she only hoped that Kai would be alright after it was over.

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AN: So, confusing enough. : ) This chapter came to me in a rush of inspiration and desire to write. I am coming back into things that I have been planning for a while so, with any luck, the chapter should start coming faster again and I'll post them as I write them. For the first time in a while I actually feel confident that I can get this thing finished by the end of May. Yay for me!

Kyo and Izumi's history, just like the characters themselves, were created by my brother and his girlfriend. I adapted them slightly into a form that I could write, but they still follow the same plot that the originals do.

PLEASE READ THIS! PLEASE READ THIS! PLEASE READ THIS!

I just wanted to see if any of my reviewers can figure out a few things from this chapter.

1. What is the cause of Kai's headache? I know there haven't been too many clues to this, but if you look back it shouldn't be very hard to figure out. The answer will come in the next chapter.

2. Who rescued Izumi and raised her? This one has clues only in this chapter and the answer won't be coming for quite some time still… I would guess another two or three chapter, but I'm really not sure.

The way I see it, I have seven or eight chapters after this one before the end. This is just a guess of course, but in any case we are now in the final stretch. : )

One last thing, there are now pics of Kyo and Izumi posted on my deviant art account. There is a link to my gallery in my profile page. Please check them out and leave a comment so I can show them to my brother and continue to get him to draw pics for me : )

Please don't forget to review : )


	16. Chapter 16

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Chapter 16

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: Another day, another painstakingly written chapter that starts with Kai waking up from something involving intense pain : )

Response to Reviewers:

Insufficient Plz: Kyo thanks you for your comment. I focused on Izumi more because, for one, I had more info on her since my bro isn't too creative when it comes to backstory. If I had to put it this way, I would say I got the author's talents and he got all the artist's talents lol. The only reason I was able to update so quickly is because I got a little more inspiration. The last few months have not been the best for me between school, work, and just life in general. Hopefully that will be looking up for me though and my posting should increase as well. I'm still trying to stick to my end of May deadline. Wish me luck : )

Silver Shadowbreeze: Izumi as a berserker... I don't really see it that way... she doesn't go crazy all the time, just if she doesn't get her demonic bloodlust sated fairly regularly. Other than that, she just enjoy's what she does : )

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Kai groaned as he pulled himself into a sitting position. He immediately noticed that he wasn't in the camp he had been sharing with Kyo and Izumi. In fact, he had absolutely no idea where he was. He definitely didn't remember ever being in an endless grassland before…

"Kyo?" Kai called out, "Izumi? Where are you guys?"

**"You know kid, you really like to make things hard on yourself?"**

"Who's there?" Kai yelled out, whipping himself around staring into the distance around him but seeing nothing.

**"You fought against me every step of the way when I was only trying to help you."**

"Who the hell are you?" Kai shouted again, getting more than a little irritated at this voice from nowhere.

**"And now you're shouting at me,"** Kai heard what sounded like a laugh, **"you've got guts kid."**

Kai forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down. Whoever the voice was, they hadn't shown any hostility toward him, and since he had no idea where he was or where the voice was coming from, the smartest thing to do would be to stay polite at the very least, especially since the last experience he had had with a disembodied voice had lead to him getting the crap beat out of him by the remnants of Hito's memories. "I'm sorry," Kai said with a sigh, "I just have no idea where I'm at or who you are and what you mean by 'trying to help me.' Needless to say I'm more than a little freaked out right now."

Kai heard another laugh before the voice spoke again, **"Then let me explain what's going on."**

Kai felt something nudge him in the back and whipped around again to see the demon horse from months before standing right in front of him. Kai fell backwards onto the ground in shock. "Huh?" he stammered, "Why are you here? What… I'm confused…"

The demon threw his head back and laughed, **"I can see that mortal, but I intend to explain what I can now."**

Kai nodded dumbly and moved a little so that he was sitting more comfortably and then watched as the stallion before him dropped down as well, lying down into the grass, acting for all the world as if he was just a normal horse instead of a demon. Kai, in his state of slight hysteria, fought down a laugh and the demon gave him what was definitely a humoring gaze, **"What? Just because I'm a demon I can't act like my mortal counterparts?"**

Kai blushed slightly which only set of the demon into another laugh. Once he had calmed down, Kai managed to work up the nerve to ask a question, "So… Where are we exactly?"

The demon looked slightly confused, **"You mean you can't tell? I know I made a few changes, but you should still be able to recognize your own mindscape when you're in it."**

Kai suddenly realized that the demon was right. Even though he was a little freaked out, a part of him was comfortable. He once again looked around himself and managed to catch sight of his "room" off in the distance, although it had been changed slightly so instead of the hole that had been left when the Hito memory invaded his mind and led him out to the rest of his mindscape, which is where he had to be now, there was a high arched doorway.

**"Come on Kai, hop on and I'll take you back over there so we can talk in a little more comfort."**

Kai paused for a moment and looked at the demon like he was crazy. When the horse only stared back, Kai shrugged and hesitantly walked to his side before clambering onto his back. With a sudden lurch, the demon heaved himself to his feet and started off toward the main area of the mindscape, immediately making Kai feel out of his element.

**"Just calm down Kai, I think you'll find that I'm quite a bit more intelligent than your average horse and won't, under any but the most extreme circumstances, let you fall."**

Kai blushed a little before making himself relax. For the next few minutes the two were silent except for the occasional comment from the demon giving Kai a few suggestions on how to move with him as he walked or how to sit differently to help them both stay more comfortable.

When they finally reached Kai's mindscape "room," the Chunin was more than ready to get off of the horse. He definitely didn't enjoy the short ride and he shuddered to think of what it would have been like if they had traveled at more than a sedate walk.

The demon just laughed, **"Don't worry kid, you'll get the hang of it sooner or later."**

Kai just sighed in resignation and watched as the horse dropped down into the grass just outside of Kai's "room." Kai paused for a moment before shrugging and, with a thought, created a chair right next to the new archway that opened to the expansive grassland he had just left.

After a few moments of silence, Kai decided to break the ice, "So… who are you exactly, and how did you get into my mindscape."

If a horse was capable of a smirk, it probably would have been giving Kai one right then, **"Straight to the point I see. Well, that works for me. I don't think we could have been able to get along very well if you weren't like that."**

Kai paused for a moment, "Well… thanks… I guess…"

The demon let out another of those almost-laughs from before, **"You're something else, you know that? Anyway, down to business. As I'm sure you well remember, you saved me from a group of thugs who were trying to use my power, yadda yadda yadda. Long story short, after we finished them off I decided to seal myself inside of you, which is what they wanted me to do for their leader."**

Kai was stunned. The demon had sealed itself inside of him? "But, why?" Kai stuttered, "I mean, why me? Why not just go back home?"

The demon seemed to slump a little, **"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that question… It has to do with the way I was summoned. Because of the sealing array they used to bring me to the mortal plane, I cannot return home on my own…"**

"Oh," Kai said softly, "I'm sorry… Is there any way I can help?"

Once again, Kai received an almost-smile, **"You already are Kai. By sealing myself into you with a demonic seal, I have linked our lives on the most basic of levels. Basically, when you die, I will be returned to the Immortal Plane."**

Kai began to get uneasy, "When I die…"

The horse tossed its head in an exaggerated nod, **"Yes, when you die a **_**natural**_** death. Which means that it is in my own best interest to help you survive as long as possible."**

Kai let out an uneasy laugh, "Well, that's good, I guess."

The horse laughed again, **"Don't worry kid, if I wanted you dead, I wouldn't have gone through all the trouble to contact you. Sorry about the headache by the way."**

"That was you!" Kai nearly screamed, "Those headaches nearly drove me insane!"

Now the demon looked almost regretful, **"I'm sorry Kai, but it was necessary. If I hadn't I wouldn't have been able to contact you here. And, as a bit of an added bonus, with a little work, you should be able to contact both myself and your guardian spirit telepathically."**

Kai paused for a moment before nodding reluctantly, "Yeah, I guess that would make it all worth it…"

**"Glad you see it my way Kai,"** the demon paused and looked away from Kai for a moment, **"it would seem that you will be waking up soon. Any time you want some help, just summon me and I'll fight by your side."** Kai immediately felt a rush of information and knew how to perform the Jutsu that would summon his newest ally.

The demon seemed to think for a moment before speaking again, **"When you wake up, you will notice a few… physical changes. These are the marks of one who has a demon sealed within them and are different for every demon; like your friend Naruto has those whisker marks from Kyuubi-sama. "**

Kai then felt the pull that meant he was returning to consciousness and realized he still had one more question to ask, "Wait a second, what's your name anyway?"

The horse chuckled as it rose to its feet once again and looked right into Kai's eyes, **"You may call me Kanba."**

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Kai woke to the smell of ramen filling the air around him. He stirred slightly and pulled himself into a sitting position, rubbing his slightly stinging eyes.

Kai then heard Kyo's voice, "So, you're awake."

There was a loud slurp followed by the sound of an empty ramen cup hitting the ground before Izumi spoke, "You were starting to worry us Kai."

Kai groaned as he opened his eyes and winced at the light of the early afternoon sun shining down without mercy. "Huh? What happened? How long was I out?" Then he remembered the demon, "Where's Kanba?"

Kyo raised an eyebrow, "I guess Kanba is the demon that sealed itself into you, right?"

Kai nodded before pausing, "Wait a second, how did you know that? It happened before I ran into you two again."

Kai's two partners looked slightly sheepish before turning toward Takagoei, who was perched in a tree over Kai's head. Kai followed their gaze and leveled a glare onto the falcon, figuring out what the two mercenaries had 'said.' "You knew?" Kai accused, "you knew what was causing the headaches? You knew that Kanba had sealed himself inside me?"

Takagoei nodded, -_He told me what he was going to do right before he did it. He said that he felt that you were deserving of his help after you risked your own life to save his._-

Kai sighed, "Yeah, I know… Hang on a second, I want to try something." Kai ran through a quick chain of seals, finishing on, and holding, the Uma seal, "_Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Kanba!_" Kai slammed his hand down next to his bed roll and watched as a huge cloud of smoke erupted from beneath his hand. The next thing he knew, he was lifted off the ground, sleeping bag and all, and when the smoke cleared, he was on Kanba's back.

**"In the future,"** the demon said after a moment, **"please refrain from summoning me unless you are standing on your own two feet. This is extremely uncomfortable for both of us."**

Kai couldn't help but agree. He was sitting with his legs stretching down Kanba's back and his feet handing off his rump. Kanba apparently had a saddle this time, because it was digging uncomfortably into Kai's butt. Not the most comfortable position to be in. On top of all that, Kai was still entangled in his sleeping bag, and was completely unable to move without risking a fall from the demon's back. One that would definitely hurt.

Kyo sighed, "Hang on, I'll be right there." The mercenary slowly made his way over to Kanba's side before lifting his arms and easily hefting Kai from his uncomfortable seat before dropping him rather abruptly to the ground a few feet away.

"Ow," Kai said, more than a little irritated at the man's actions.

"You should have thought about that a little more before you summoned him," Izumi said, clearly fighting back an urge to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah," Kai said with a sigh as he clambered out of his sleeping bag, rubbing his sore rear, "I know that _now_."

No one said anything else for a few moments. Then, Kanba, who had been staring at Kai ever since he was removed from his back, turned to Kyo, **"You haven't told him yet, have you?"**

Kyo shrugged, "We were trying to find a way to do it; just didn't have too much time before he summoned you."

Kai was confused, "What are you talking about?"

Kanba sighed before turning around to face Kai and slamming one of his front hooves into the ground. As soon as it hit, a pillar of flame erupted around the demon's leg that made Kai recoil from the intense heat. When it died down a few seconds later, Kanba stepped back, revealing a perfectly smooth patch of ground that appeared to be glinting in the sunlight.

Kanba nodded toward the spot and stepped away, silently telling Kai to look. With bated breath, Kai stepped up and looked down into the strangely reflective patch of earth and saw what he was meant to see. The flame Kanba created had been hot enough to solidify the patch of earth below his hoof and turn it into a reflective surface similar to a mirror. Even though the image wasn't as clear as a traditional mirror, Kai could still see what could only be the 'changes' that Kanba had mentioned before he left his mindscape.

Overall, there wasn't any change to his face. Kai still looked the same as before right down to the scar transversing his face, except for his eyes. There was no real pupil to speak of and any that might have been there was easily hidden by the apparent motion of the rest of his eyes. Where he had once had a bright green iris, he now had a strange mixture of red, orange, and yellow. After a moment, he saw that the motion of his iris actually resembled that of a flame. A moment more and he confirmed it, it was almost as if his eyes had been set on fire, and yet he didn't feel any different.

**"I see you have seen what we were talking about. As I'm sure you have guessed, that is your mark as one who has a demon sealed within them. Even I didn't know how it would manifest itself. The fire in your eyes is a sign that I am a demon whose primary element is fire."**

Kai sighed and looked up at Kyo and Izumi. The hanyo shrugged, "It doesn't look bad, maybe a little unsettling though… and you'll probably want to avoid making eye contact with anyone without using a Genjutsu on your eyes or something…"

Kai nodded slowly before looking back down at the makeshift mirror. After a second of thought, Kai activated his Miraigan at the lowest possible chakra level and watched as his new eyes were covered up by the familiar view of his bloodline. "Well, he said as he stood up straight again, "at least this is a little less unnerving."

Izumi and Kyo nodded with a light smile before Takagoei spoke up, -_I'm sorry I couldn't tell you about Kanba, Kai. If I had, you might have unconsciously began resisting what he was doing, and that would have made it even harder on both of you._-

Kai looked over at his first partner, "It's alright Takagoei, no big deal." He gave the falcon one of Naruto's huge smiles before turning back to Kanba, "I'm sorry for any difficulty I gave you."

The demon bowed his head low before looking back into Kai's eyes, **"It is, as you said, 'no big deal,' Kai. After the way you helped me, the least I can do is put up with a little difficulty."**

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As the next few weeks passed, Kai slowly got used to his new ally and new eyes. Although the eyes didn't give him any further advantages like a bloodline would, as long as Kai had Kanba sealed within him, he was granted a small level of immunity to fire; an immunity that only grew when the demon was summoned and Kai was in contact with him.

The only other change that occurred due to Kai finding out about his new partner was the seal Kanba had used finally becoming visible. It was on his left shoulder, on the same spot Kanba had touched right before he disappeared after defeating the thugs who were beating him. At a simple glance, it looked like a strange tattoo, maybe some kind of fire design coming out from a spiral on his shoulder that spread out across the entire left side of his chest, but to someone with even rudimentary seal knowledge, which Kai had long since surpassed, the tiny Kanji dancing around each line revealed its true complexity and genius design. When Kai commented on this, Kanba would only smile and say, **"Well of course its genius, it was designed by a demon after all."**

Other than that, and the obvious help that Kanba could provide in battle and with transportation, Kai gained another ally and friend who helped him train on a daily basis.

As the weeks turned to months, Kai and the others turned into a flawless team. Usually, Kyo would be the one who met with their clients to get the missions since he was the only one who looked relatively normal. Between Izumi's feline features and Kai's eyes, bloodline active or not, they didn't really make the best first impression on people who, more often than not, were scared out of their mind just because they were meeting with mercenaries with reputations like Kyo and Izumi on top of their own troubles that warranted contacting the mercenaries in the first place. Besides that, it wouldn't do for Kai to be linked with the assassin Kagetaka, who was known to travel with Kyo and Izumi. The fact that they were one and the same shouldn't get out, especially with all the enemies that Kai managed to make in his guise as Kagetaka.

Kai eventually learned to use his scythe under Izumi's tutelage, but there was always more to learn. No matter how much he learned, Izumi always managed to come up with something else for him to work on. Eventually, she revealed the purpose of all of this. She wanted him to take what she showed him and customize it to work for him specifically. When it came down to it, Izumi was just more flexible than Kai was, both due to her gender and her demonic heritage, and her style just didn't work the same for Kai as it did for her.

After learning this, Kai took what she had shown him and started working on his own style, not only for his scythe, but also for the other Reimeiken forms.

As the months turned to years, Kai adapted fully to his new lifestyle and comrades. With work, he unlocked and mastered the final form of Reimeiken, the Futon Reimeiken, and his skill in the other forms only continued to grow.

The only thing that didn't change for Kai was his determination to, someday, return to Konoha. To someday return to the first home he remembered. He loved his mother and he loved the village he was born in, but without his memory from his younger years, Konoha was, without a doubt, his home.

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Time Skip – 3 years

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Kai and Izumi sat around their campfire waiting for Kyo to return from the latest meeting with a potential client. Overall, none of the three Shinobi had changed much, other than Kai growing taller, now reaching 5'10", and finally outgrowing his early teenage awkwardness and losing the rest of his 'baby fat.' He continued to work on his strength under Kyo's insistence, but he never quite gained the bulk that usually came from that kind of work. He got stronger, without a doubt, but his muscles remained compact, which made many opponents underestimate him until they felt the first punch.

As they waited, Kai began thinking over the circumstances that lead them to where they were. This particular mission request was a bit of an oddity. It had been first introduced to them shortly after finishing their last mission, which had been an assassination/infiltration mission to take care of some corrupt businessmen/crime lords who were, ironically, trying to restart Gato's former business dealings in wave country. Shortly after they received their payment for that mission, a Konoha ANBU with a strange NE symbol on their mask approached them and gave them a mission scroll. Kai had still been in his Kagetaka guise when the ANBU showed up, and so was able to restrain himself in the presence of the Konoha Shinobi, but that didn't mean he wasn't slightly worried about the mission.

The scroll itself hadn't said anything other than the meeting time and place, but in the end, Kyo and Izumi had decided to go ahead with the meeting, even if Kai was a little uneasy.

Kyo had been gone for two hours before Kai and Izumi heard the telltale sounds of his approach through the brush around their camp. They knew it was him because Izumi could smell him and Kyo was the only one who would be able to make that much noise but still somehow manage to remain almost completely undetected.

"So," Izumi called out once Kyo came into sight, "how did it go?"

Kyo cracked a smile, "I think we may have the answer to all our problems."

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AN: Alright everyone, it is now time for me to reveal the origin of my idea for Kai. The original design for him actually came off of a video game, specifically Dynasty Warriors 5. I created a custom character with Zhou Tai's Katana weapon set and any time I used him in a battle, I always gave him the Shadow Runner mount, which is a pitch black horse that has an awesome special ability that keeps you from being knocked off and eventually became Kanba. I played that game while I was first thinking up the storyline and decided to use that character as the template for Kai. The rest, as they say, is history.

Just so you know, Kanba means bronco. It was the only horse related word that I liked the sound of : )

Another real quick comment. Kai is NOT a Jinchurriki. Jinchurriki means "power of human sacrifice" or something along those lines and, to me, signifies a child that had their demon sealed within them "for the good of the village." Kai's demon chose to be sealed within him. Besides all that, Kai won't be able to use any demonic chakra without severely hurting himself. Unlike regular Demon Containers, Kai didn't grow up with his demon, and so his body isn't used to the chakra, and because of his age when Kanba was sealed, his coils won't be able to take the strain of the demonic chakra. He gets absolutely nothing out of the deal besides Kanba's help in battle/transportation when needed and the fiery eyes : )

Jutsu list:

Uma - horse

_Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Kanba_: Summoning Technique: Kanba

Futon: Wind Style

And so another chapter has ended and I am finally getting back to Konoha next chapter (YAY!). I hope the time skip wasn't too abrupt, but I really couldn't think of any other way to put it in. Please don't forget to review ^_\\ (If you can't figure it out, that face is Kakashi)


	17. Chapter 17

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Chapter 17

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: This chapter represents the solution to a problem I have been having since I started this story: How to get Kai back into Konoha. Enjoy ^_\\

Response to Reviewers:

Gravenimage: ...Sorry, I won't be changing anything from cannon, and I honestly don't know how big Ino's breasts are in cannon... at least not the actual measurements... You pervert... lol. I already have Kai and Ino's 'reunion' planned out, and, with any luck, it should be by the end of next chapter, which i will begin working on as soon as I can : )

Insufficient Plz: I know the cliffhanger was bad, but I haven't left off on too many good ones lately so I felt that I owed it to you all : ) So, you guessed about Kanba huh... That makes two times you knew the answers to questions I asked. YOU NEED TO START GIVING YOUR ANSWERS lol. And, one more thing... Kai isn't really all that tall... I'm 6'4" myself, I have a brother who is taller than me (6'8"), Another brother who is shorter than me, but still taller than Kai (5'11"), Kyo is taller than Kai (around 6') and I intend to make Naruto taller than Kai when I finally get down to Shippuden descriptions next chapter. Maybe I'm just used to taller people... *shrugs* Oh well.

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Tsunade, Slug Sannin and Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure, was having a bad day. First off, her apprentice, Shizune, had found her sake stash and taken it. Then, Jiraiya had, once again, pissed her off with a half-baked attempt to get her drunk and alone with him. Finally, to top it all off, Homura, Koharu, and Danzo had called an emergency council meeting that she was required to attend.

Grumbling, Tsunade stomped her way to the council chamber, the whole time debating whether it would be worth it to send the three elders flying over the horizon courtesy of her fist, just to get them out of her hair.

When she finally arrived at the doors to the council chamber, she could easily hear the loud buzz of conversation, telling her that she was one of the last to arrive. With a sigh, she put on her best 'Hokage' face and threw the doors open. Conversation stopped immediately as everyone turned to see who had entered the room.

Tsunade looked over the room that seemed to hold only bad memories for her, mostly because the council elders always seemed to go out of their way to give her a hard time. She ran her eyes over the room, taking in the stadium type seating where the full Civilian Council was sitting with the Elders above them and her empty seat above those three. Then, she ran her gaze around the room, meeting the eyes of each clan head in a show of mutual respect as they sat in their balcony seats at the same level as the Council Elders.

Tsunade's gaze was then pulled to one person in particular, "Naruto? What are you doing in here?" Naruto was sitting underneath one of the balconies, with Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi nearby, in an area usually reserved for guests or individuals who have some kind of stake in the issues to be discussed.

"I don't know baa-chan," Naruto responded, "an ANBU came and got us all while we were training. They said we needed to come to the council chambers and attend this meeting."

Tsunade looked to Kakashi who just nodded to confirm the boy's story. Naruto had only been back in Konoha for a few weeks after his training trip with Jiraiya and was supposed to be reintegrating himself into his team and Konoha in general. The Council Elders knew that, especially since they had been the ones to suggest the ruling that was made to that effect. But the Elders were the only ones who could order ANBU besides herself, so why would they go against their own ruling? And why was Squad 7 here? There had to be something else behind this and if prior experiences with the three council members were anything to go by, Tsunade would have to practically beat it out of them.

"Alright Danzo," Tsunade said once she finally took her place behind the Hokage's podium above the Elders, "what's this all about?"

Danzo slowly stood from his seat and widened his smirk, raising his one arm dramatically, "My fellow council members, I am happy to report that we have captured one of our Missing Nin." Conversation broke out immediately, everyone asking the same question: who could have been caught that garnered a full emergency council meeting?

The old War Hawk waited until the buzz died down before he continued, "It has been three long years since this particular individual escaped Konoha. I'm sure those of you who were here at the time remember the events of the Chunin Exams three years ago, and I don't mean the invasion we suffered at the hands of Orochimaru and Otogakure."

By this point, many of the council members were whispering actively to their neighbors. It was fairly clear to the Godaime that most of them did, in fact, know what Danzo was talking about. She, however, didn't, "Danzo, stop playing around. You know very well that I have no idea what you're talking about. So why don't you just tell the fucking story." She was not having a good day.

Danzo flinched a bit from the highly concentrated but focused killing intent coming at him from the Hokage and nodded, "Very well Tsunade-sama. Shortly after the events following the Chunin Exams in the same year as the beginning of your term as Hokage, a Genin named Wareta Kai was found to possess a very powerful bloodline. This Genin was quickly placed under the Clan Restoration Act by a ruling by the council and was informed of this decision by myself. Shortly afterward, he escaped his hospital room and the village with the help of his sensei, Seijitsu Yue, who is at least a Jonin level Shinobi from an unknown village, although most likely not one of the Hidden Villages.

"Since then, the Genin has dropped off the map, although there have been occasional reports of his whereabouts, nothing was solid. Until now, that is. I recently commissioned a mission for a neutral third party to capture the target and return him to Konoha."

"NO!" Naruto shouted as he jumped to his feet, instantly bringing everyone's attention to him.

"I would suggest you settle down _Genin_," Danzo spat the word out like a curse, "I requested for you four to be here because you were on the same team as Kai. I thought you would have wanted to know he was safe, but I will not hesitate to have you removed if you continue to disrupt the proceedings."

Tsunade fixed Naruto with a heated gaze. She knew who Kai was, mostly because Naruto talked about him quite a bit for the first few months after she took up the mantle of the Hokage, and she knew what he meant to Naruto, but now was not the time for an outburst. She definitely saw why Danzo had brought Squad 7 in on the meeting though. That man always had had a sadistic streak…

Naruto finally wrenched his glare away from Danzo and looked pleadingly at Tsunade, who shook her head slightly. The orange clad boy was about to say something when Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. As Tsunade watched, Naruto forced himself to relax and flopped down into his chair, clearly unhappy with the entire situation.

Danzo waited for a moment more before nodding, "Now that that's out of the way, bring in the prisoner." All eyes turned to the main door to the chamber where a figure dressed completely in black, complete with mask across the lower half of his face, a hood around the top of his head just above his eyes that appeared to be attached to a scarf that wrapped around his neck before dangling freely for a few feet behind him, a set of greaves and bracers, fingerless gloves with metal plates on the back and a katana strapped across his back walked in, carrying a battered figure over his shoulder.

Naruto tried to jump up again, but Kakashi held him down, "KAI!"

The black clad figure dropped Kai onto his stomach in the center of the council chambers and stepped back, crossing his arms as he watched the council around him while still keeping an eye on the sixteen year old on the ground. Kai slowly got his arms underneath him and pushed himself up into a sitting position before looking around.

When Kai's gaze landed on Naruto and Squad 7, he almost fell back again. "Hey Onii-san," Kai said weakly, "I certainly didn't expect our grand reunion to be anything like this."

"Kai," Kakashi whispered, keeping his hand on Naruto's shoulder to prevent him from doing anything hasty. The Chunin nodded and forced himself onto his feet, shaking unsteadily for a few moments before turning to fully face his team, watching his captor out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei," Kai said with a half-smile, "hope you're doing well…" Kai trailed off as his eyes swept over the rest of his old team. He nodded to Sasuke, who looked troubled even through his usual emo-guise.

Then his eyes landed on Sakura, who seemed rather upset, although Kai could tell it wasn't entirely because of the trouble he was in. Kai signed, "Sakura, I forgive you for what happened back then. It was too long ago for me to still be holding it against you." He gave her a weak smile, which she returned before her gaze shifted to a determined one and she looked back toward Danzo and the other Elders who had stood up when Kai was brought in.

"It's a good thing you made up with her Kai," Danzo said with a sinister sneer on his face, "because, as a single Kunoichi of Konoha, she is one of your potential wives once you recover."

Kai scowled, "Go fuck yourself Danzo," he then turned to Sakura with a huge smile, "no offense Sakura." The Kunoichi smiled weakly at Kai's poor attempt at a joke in this highly inappropriate situation.

"I'm afraid you have no choice young man," Koharu said as she glared down at Kai, "you won't be able to get out of the village this time. You _will_ stay and do your duty as Konoha Nin and the last of your clan, one way or the other."

Kai grimaced. He knew she was right; things were definitely looking grim, but that didn't mean he had to admit it out loud, "That's what you think you old bat," he shouted in defiance, smirking when the old councilwoman recoiled slightly, falling back into her chair, "just wait till Kyo and Izumi get here. They helped me get out once, and I know they'll help me again."

Danzo's smirk somehow grew even wider, "Oh really? Is that a fact? Just who do you think helped us capture you child?" Tsunade jumped slightly as a pair of figures Shunshined into the room, appearing in opposite corners on either side of the door, hiding their faces and figures in the shadows.

Kai recognized them though, and his face twisted into shock and disbelief when he turned around and saw his friends standing in the room, "B…But…How…Why?"

Neither of them would answer him. They wouldn't even look at him, and Kai felt his last bit of strength leave as he fell to his knees once more, silent sobs wracking his body.

"And so you see Kai," Danzo taunted, "no one escapes the grip of the Council of Konoha. Willing or not, you will bring your bloodline to this village, for the betterment of all."

Kai was beyond caring at this point and just stared at the floor in front of him, completely ignoring his former teammates who were barely restraining themselves at the side of the room.

"Come now Kai," Homura said, finally speaking up with a grandfatherly smile on his face, "it isn't all that bad."

Kai snapped his head up and glared at the elderly man before slowly struggling to his feet and saying darkly, "How about you try having your freedom stripped from you and see how you like it." Homura dropped into his seat like his old teammate, for the first time wondering if they were really doing the right thing.

Danzo, however, wouldn't be deterred, "You should just accept the inevitable Kai; there is no getting out of it now. ANBU!" Four "NE" ANBU appeared at the foot of the stadium seats in front of Danzo and the civilian council, most of which were smirking at Kai, "Take this boy to headquarters to… recover."

The ANBU nodded to Danzo before turning and walking in unison toward the Chunin who watched them with unease somehow clear in his Miraigan eyes.

Then, just before the ANBU reached Kai, a quiet voice cut across the room, "Just a moment."

Everyone froze as the black clad man who had brought Kai in stepped up next to him, glaring at the ANBU who had stopped moving the moment the man fixed his eyes upon them. They had been specially trained by Danzo to repress all emotion within themselves in order to become superior Shinobi, but as each of the four ANBU met the slightly glowing eyes from under the man's hood, they couldn't help but be a little bit afraid. There was something unnatural about him.

Danzo didn't notice, "ANBU! I told you to seize him!" The ANBU moved forward hesitantly, but when the first one reached out to place his hand on a stunned Kai, there was suddenly a katana at his throat.

"And I said to wait a moment. You don't get him, until I get my pay."

Danzo glared down at the individual holding a blade at his ANBU's throat, but nodded after a moment, "Very well, your terms stand as agreed. You deliver Kai, and you, and your partners Momotaro Kyo and Motosua Izumi, are completely exonerated of any and all charges leveled upon you by Konoha. In addition, you are all placed under the full protection of the Council of Konoha and are hereby instated as Shinobi of Konohagakure, of rank to be determined at a later date."

Danzo reached down into a drawer in front of his seat and pulled out three Hitai-ate and a scroll which he then threw to one of his ANBU on the floor. The ANBU quickly handed the scroll and one of the Hitai-ate to the black clad man before taking the other two to Kyo and Izumi in their places in the corners of the room.

The War Hawk nodded once the ANBU returned to his place between the councilman and Kai, "Are we all settled now?"

The man unrolled the scroll and looked over the written copy of the terms Danzo had just named. After a moment he looked back at the two in the corners and nodded, smiling behind his black mask before turning back and nodding to Danzo, sheathing his blade once more and taking a step back. Danzo nodded back and looked toward his ANBU again, "ANBU…"

"However," the man said, once again cutting Danzo off, "I don't think I'll be needing this." He held up the Hitai-ate the ANBU had just handed him before tossing it back to said ANBU who caught it awkwardly, caught off guard by the man's sudden action.

Danzo was very confused, which only served to increase his anger, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?"

The man smiled again behind his mask, "Because I already have one, I just have to pick it up from an old friend." As soon as he finished talking, the man blinked and his shadowed eyes lit up for a second before dimming once more to reveal the spiraling shape of the Miraigan.

"Y…you…" Danzo stuttered out, more than a little shocked, his gaze shifting back and forth between the man and Kai, examining their eyes and seeing the same shape in both.

Before anyone could say anything else, Kai straightened up as if he wasn't injured at all and stepped back to stand next to the figure in black. With a smirk on his face and an unseen one on the other man's face, they both lifted their arms and grasped each other's hands firmly. There was a sudden, blindingly bright light and when everyone could see again, there was only the black clad man standing there.

"WHERE DID THE BOY GO?" Danzo raged, ready to kill the man he had hired, "I WARN YOU KAGETAKA IF YOU DOUBLECROSSED ME…!"

The now named Kagetaka laughed as he dropped out of his emotionless state and became Kai once again. "To think Danzo-_sama_, you were fooled by a Bunshin, albeit a rather advanced one, but a Bunshin nonetheless." As everyone watched, Kai pulled his mask down and removed his hood, revealing his scar-crossed face to all those watching.

"KAI!" his teammates shouted.

"Easy on the ears guys," Kai said with a smile, turning toward them, "just calm down, we'll talk later."

"I'm afraid not Kai," Danzo said calmly, his superior smirk back on his face, "you are still marked down as a Missing Nin and you will still be subjected to the Clan Restoration Act. Your ruse gained you nothing."

"And that's where your wrong Danzo-teme," Kai responded with one of Naruto's trademark grins that only grew wider at the councilman's sneer, "by your own words recorded in this document you just gave me, 'You,' meaning me, ', and your partners Momotaro Kyo and Motosua Izumi, are completely exonerated of any and all charges leveled upon you,' meaning the three of us, 'by Konoha. In addition, you are all placed under the full protection of the Council of Konoha.' And I believe that being forced under the Clan Restoration Act and/or executed would fall under something that we would need political protection from, wouldn't you say?"

At this point, Tsunade, along with several of the Shinobi Clan heads who disliked Danzo, were fighting down laughs at the current situation. The old War Hawk had just been outsmarted by a sixteen year old that he had endeavored to capture for three years, effectively putting the boy out of his reach even from within Konoha.

"And so," Kai continued, "by your own word, you have to protect me and my companions… from yourself. You have effectively protected me from unwilling admission into the Clan Restoration Act program, and for that, I thank you Danzo-_sama_." Kai finished with a highly exaggerated bow that only served to infuriate the councilman even more.

Tsunade couldn't take it anymore. She had to get out of the room before she burst out laughing at Danzo's expense. Summoning up all the willpower she could, Tsunade calmed herself and spoke, "Very well Danzo, if there is no other business to address I believe I have three new Shinobi to meet with in my office. This meeting is hereby adjourned, Kai, I want you and your two friends in my office five minutes ago. Kakashi, you and your team are to escort them there."

Kakashi immediately nodded, "Hai Hokage-sama," and walked up to Kai's side. Kai gestured for him to hold on for a second and formed a half seal. A second later, the scarf, mask, bracers, greaves, and gloves disappeared in a cloud of smoke leaving him in his regular outfit.

"Alright Kakashi-sensei, I'm ready," Kai said with a smile looking over his old teammates again.

"While I have a chance," Kakashi asked, "what was that Jutsu you used?"

Kai smiled, "_Karada Bunshin_ Kakashi-sensei. Its one of my mother's Jutsu. I actually used it during the Chunin Exams before I had to leave," his eyes grew a little uneasy, "and I would appreciate it if you and Sasuke _didn't _copy it… It's kind of a family Jutsu…"

Kakashi waved his hand airily, "No problem Kai, it's not really my style anyway." Kai glanced toward Sasuke who gave a grunt and a nod. With a smile, the newly re-instated Konoha Chunin turned to the door and started out, shortly followed by Squad 7.

When they passed through the door, Kyo and Izumi slipped in next to Kai. "Nice acting there kid," Kyo said, giving Kai a congratulatory pat on the back, "if we hadn't known what was going on already, you probably could have fooled us."

Izumi nodded in agreement, but Kai shook his head, "Actually guys, I did slip up a little. When I was 'sobbing' after the grand unveiling of your 'betrayal,' I was actually fighting to hold back a laugh."

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"..and that's what happened." Kai finished. He had just spent the last hour giving a fairly abbreviated version of his last three years and the plan to trick Danzo. He was standing with Izumi and Kyo in the middle of the Hokage's office with Tsunade behind her desk while Jiraiya and Shizune stood on either side of her and Squad 7 listened off to one side.

It had been a bit of a shock to meet the Toad Sannin, even though he knew Naruto was his apprentice, but after all he had done in the last few years, Kai was able to shake his amazement off. It was made even easier when Jiraiya made a perverted comment about his Karada Bunshin and how much 'fun' it could be in the bedroom. It had taken ten minutes for the perverted Sannin to return through the hole in the wall he made when Tsunade had reacted to his comment.

"Alright," Tsunade said, nodding her head, "all that there is left to do now is gauge your actual skills so you can be properly ranked before you start taking missions again. And I mean all three of you, including you Izumi-chan."

Izumi smiled, "I was wondering when you were going to say something Tsunade-sensei." While Kyo smiled and everyone else stood dumbstruck, Tsunade stood and walked around her desk to meet Izumi and enveloped her in a hug.

"So, how is this lug treating you?" Tsunade asked with a light glare to Kyo.

"Awwwww Tsunade-sensei," Izumi whined, her ears lying back onto her head, "don't do that with everyone here!"

Tsunade just laughed, "Alright, but we'll have to meet up later on," she looked thoughtful for a moment, "maybe for some sake. We need to catch up."

Izumi nodded before turning to Shizune who stepped up and hugged her as well. "It's good to see you again Izumi," the med-nin said with a smile.

Izumi turned to the dumbstruck Kai, "If you haven't figured it out yet, Tsunade-sensei and Shizune are the ones who found and raised me. They are also the ones who taught me all the medical Jutsu I know."

Kai nodded dumbly before suddenly straightening. "What's wrong onii-san?" Naruto asked, noticing Kai's odd behavior.

Kai scratched the back of his head, "I'm getting chewed out by Takagoei. Just a moment please." Kai quickly walked over to the hole Jiraiya had left in the wall and stuck his arm out for a few moments, only to jerk slightly when a slightly muffled thump hit as Takagoei landed rather roughly onto Kai's arm. Kai winced slightly as he brought the bird into the room, having a fierce mental conversation with him.

-_I'm sorry Takagoei, I've been more than a little distracted._-

-_Yes, but while you were 'distracted' I was constantly forced to fly over the village, never able to land. Every time I tried to take a break, some citizen or Shinobi would try to capture me because I was a 'rare white falcon' or some such bull shit! You owe me big!_- Takagoei was not in a good mood.

Kai sighed and explained the falcon's problem to the rest of the people in the room. Tsunade shook her head, holding back a chuckle, "I'll let the people know not to bug you Takagoei. I can't have the guardian spirit of one of Konoha's newest clans running off because the rest of the people won't leave him alone."

Kai flinched slightly, "What do you mean by that Hokage-sama."

Tsunade smiled at Naruto, "Hey Gaki, why can't you show me the same respect as your friend?" Naruto gave her one of his smiles before laughing uneasily. Tsunade sighed and continued, "Kai, even though you aren't being subjected to the Clan Restoration Act, I still plan on registering the Wareta clan as an official clan of Konoha, unless you have a problem with it that is."

She didn't say it as a threat, but Kai still felt uneasy, "Well, I don't personally have a problem, but Kaa-san may not want to… I won't know until I talk to her again, but I don't know when that will be…"

Tsunade nodded, "Alright then, just give me an answer the next time you talk to her then."

Kai nodded again as Tsunade made her way back behind her desk, "Now, if you all don't mind, I have a lot of paperwork to do, not the least of which comes from getting you three into the system. I don't suppose you would be willing to help out would you?"

Tsunade glanced around at everyone in the room, which caused an immediate reaction. Jiraiya jumped slightly, "Ah… Sorry Tsunade-chan, but I… uh… I need to do more research!" With that he was gone, quickly jumping out the hole in the wall and disappearing from sight before Tsunade could send him out with another punch.

Squad 7 paled slightly before they each disappeared in their own Shunshin leaving Kai, Izumi, and Kyo alone with Tsunade and Shizune. "What about you three?" Tsunade asked hopefully, casting uneasy glances at the piles of paper on the edge of her desk that would probably stand taller than her if they were all put in one stack."

Izumi laughed uneasily, "Uh… Sorry Tsunade-sensei… I uh… Kyo-kun, a little help here please..."

Kyo just grunted and looked at Kai who slapped his forehead, "Thanks for the help guys." With a sight, Kai straightened up and look directly at Tsunade, "Tsunade-sama, with all due respect, the paperwork is your job to do, not anyone else's." He could tell that Tsunade was getting mad, so he hurried to finish his statement, "That being said, there is no reason I can't give you the same tip I gave Sarutobi-sensei when I first got to Konoha: Kage Bunshin." With that, Kai and his two companions turned and walked out the door, leaving a slightly irritated Tsunade planning revenge against a certain elderly man and former Hokage who failed to tell her about this shortcut.

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The rest of the day was spent looking for a place to stay. Unfortunately, upon his 'defection' from Konoha, Kai's apartment was stripped of any and all belongings, not that Kakashi had left much there when he had collected Kai's things, and sold, so he couldn't go back there. But Izumi wasn't Tsunade's former student for nothing. The Hokage had gotten them a pair of rooms in a rather up-scale hotel that catered mostly to visiting Shinobi from other Villages, more often than not on diplomatic missions.

It wasn't a permanent solution, which Tsunade had been very blunt about when they had returned to her office to ask about it, but they were free to stay there for a month or two, depending on how long it took them to get settled in and find their own places.

By the time they had settled into their temporary residence, the sun was setting over Konoha and Kai found himself hit with a sudden wash of unease. With a sigh, the newly reinstated Chunin opened the window to his room and leapt out, not noticing Kyo and Izumi coming into his room just as he left.

As Kai leapt across the rooftops, his mind wandered over the time he had spent in this village so long ago, and wondered how much had really changed. He ran his mind over everyone he had known and wondered how they would react to his return. He wondered how much his old friends had changed. He wondered how the villagers treated Naruto specifically and how they would react to him now.

He wondered about Ino…

That was one subject he was particularly hesitant to dwell upon. He was nervous about seeing Ino again. Before he left, they hadn't exactly been an item, some would even say they weren't more casual acquaintances, but Kai knew now, mostly because he had had so long to think about it, that he definitely had some kind of feelings for her. He may even love her. He could only hope that she returned those feelings in kind.

He was snapped out of his musings when the sound of his feet echoed in the air as the heels of his boots smacked down upon bare stone instead of wood or dirt. He noticed, as he looked around, that he had somehow found his way to the top of the Hokage Monument. Kai smiled as he looked out over Konoha, marveling at its beauty, bathed as it was in the brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows of sunset.

No matter what was bothering him, scenes like this always seemed to calm him down. Over the years he spent with Kyo and Izumi, Kai had spent roughly half his time in his guise as Kagetaka. This necessity had made Kai appreciate certain things that much more when he could. When he got the chance, he always took the time to admire the view.

Kai smiled as he sat down on the stone above the heads of Konoha's former leaders and reached into his weapon pouch to withdraw a sealing scroll. This particular scroll wasn't used for storing weapons or anything remotely related to battle. It was for personal items only. Things like the letters he had received from his mother before he left Konoha, any little mementoes that he collected during his travels, and many other sentimental things that many 'regular' citizens would be surprised to learn that a Shinobi like Kai, or more specifically, Kagetaka, would possess.

Kai unrolled the scroll partway until several seals were revealed. He placed his hand down onto one of them and focused a pulse of chakra into it. After a small cloud of smoke, Kai pulled his hand back from the seal, revealing the ocarina he had been given by Yue on his thirteenth birthday.

Another thing that he had developed during his time away was a love for music, or at least the music he played. He knew that he was no professional, but the tunes he played helped him relax in a way he could never understand himself, let alone explain. Just as he was lifting the small, ceramic flute to his lips to play, a voice cut across the silence.

"Were you planning on playing without us here?"

Kai turned and smiled to Izumi and she and Kyo made their way over to sit next to him, Izumi laying her head on Kyo's shoulder as they watched the sunset with Kai. Shortly after Kai learned to find solace in his music, Izumi had found him out. Kai had been going away from their camps at night to practice his music and release his pent up emotions through the songs, afraid that the sound would disrupt Kyo and Izumi, but after a late night stroll had brought Izumi to the tree he was practicing in, Kai found that it was completely unnecessary. Soon, the two, particularly Izumi, had Kai playing every night he could. They said they found the music soothing and had even gone out of their way to get him a few music books so he could learn some actual tunes instead of improvising the whole song like he tended to do when he was feeling emotionally withdrawn.

Kai shook his head after a moment, smiling, "I should have known that you two would show up the moment I pulled out my ocarina."

Izumi lifted her head, fixing him with a false teary-eyed gaze that Kai immediately saw through, "But Kai-kun, don't you want us listening to you play?"

Kai rolled his eyes. She may have been a fearsome fighter, but Izumi was truly a child at heart. "I don't know Izumi," Kai said airily, giving a heaving sigh, "I do have all of Konoha to play for now…"

Izumi gave him a playful smack on his shoulder before laying her head back onto the shoulder of a chuckling Kyo who put his arm around her shoulders, "Just shut up and play Falcon-Boy."

Kai smiled and nodded before bringing the instrument back to his lips and letting the music flow through him, leaving the world, and his troubles and worries, behind him on the mountaintop as he soared into the sky on the wings of the song.

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AN: Alright everyone, first off, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I know it was fun to write : P

Secondly, I don't know how everyone imagines the council chambers of Konoha. Personally, I have never seen it on the show, and I've never found any two fanfictions that describe it the same way, so I just decided to go with how I originally envisioned the room from the first fic I read (don't remember which one it was).

Now I want an honest answer from my reviewers: Who actually saw the whole Kai tricking Danzo and the council thing coming. I know there were no hints before this chapter and that's not what I'm asking. I want to know if anyone figured out the Karada Bunshin Kagetaka thing before I actually revealed it. I am particularly proud of that little plot twist and I hope I portrayed it well : )

Here's another thing I want to ask my readers about. I included the ocarina in this chapter to represent the fulfillment of its purpose from when I first gave it to Kai earlier in this fic. It was always intended to be an emotional outlet for Kai, who had to repress his emotions to do his job. Getting to the point, I was wondering if there was anything else from an earlier chapter that I may have forgotten. I don't want to be like other authors I have seen that put seemingly important stuff into a story, only to forget about it and any possible influence it may have had in the story. I would like to think that I have been able to cover, or at least plan for, all items and/or people that I have included in this story, but I know that probably isn't true. So, if anyone has seen anything that I included in the story earlier that appeared important and I seemed to have forgotten about it since then, I would appreciate it if you could bring it to my attention. If it is indeed something that I have forgotten, I will endeavor to address that issue, but there is the possibility that I just haven't gotten to the part of the story that explains the person/thing. : )

Jutsu list:

Karada Bunshin: Body Clone (Original Jutsu)

Kage Bunshin: Shadow Clone

Next chapter will be Kai's skill tests. Basically, it will be a bunch of sparring matches to test what he can do! YAY ACTION! Please Review.


	18. Chapter 18

26

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Chapter 18

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: And now, some ACTION!

Response to Reviewers:

Gravenimage: Kai will see Ino again in this chapter... that's all I'm gonna say now...

Insufficient Plz: First off, i want to thank you for the longest review I have ever gotten. YAY! Now, on to the response... Maybe we're not freakishly tall. Maybe you are just unusually short lol. As for Naruto's height, I really don't know much at all about cannon past the Sasuke Retrieval Arc... So, I really don't know how tall he is in Shippuden... That being said, I have seen him as being around 6 ft in many fics, and I'm around that height, so thats where I'm gonna put him. It really won't play into the story too much as more than a meaningless detail, so there's no reason to worry about it : ) I'm glad you liked the return chapter, I have been planning that for a while, and, honestly, getting to that chapter was one of my biggest drivers because of how much fun I knew it would be to write that chapter, and now I've switched that to getting to the final chapter : ) Thanks for your help with reminding me. Like I said, I don't think I forgot anything, but I know that, because of my unique point of view as the author, I will probably miss something. That being said, I didn't forget about Seiru and Hito. Hito is, obviously, the main villain character, so he will be back. The same goes for Seiru, although he isn't a villian, his part in the story will be just as important when he comes back in the next few chapters.

Silver Shadowbreeze: I think I caught you off guard with my faster update Shadow, you had me worried for a while when I didn't get a review lol. The saddle on Kanba goes along with his origins as the Shadow Runner from DW5. He creates it himself and he won't always have it on. I'm happy you liked the chapter, as I said in an earlier response, I was really looking forward to that chapter, and I'm glad it turned out well. The ocarina was an idea that came to me while I was playing my own. I have a replica Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time that I play every once in a while and I was actually using it when i was trying to solve Kai's emotional outlet problems WAY back at the beginning of this story. If things go the way I have them planned, he will end up relying on it a lot more... : )

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Kai woke to the sound of tapping on his window. With a groan he rolled over and saw a messenger bird sitting on the windowsill, a small scroll tied to its leg. Cursing at being forced to get up at what he felt must have been an ungodly hour, even though he didn't know what time it was yet, Kai pulled himself out of the tangle of bedsheets and stumbled to the window before opening it and letting the bird hop in.

The creature only stayed long enough for Kai to remove the scroll from its leg before it took off; shooting Takagoei what must have been the avian equivalent of a wary glance as it flew. The falcon was perched on top of a mirror across the room, sleeping easily with his head under one wing. He had been there ever since Kai had gotten the room. Apparently he had been more tired than he thought after spending the entire day dodging the villagers and Shinobi.

Kai smiled sleepily as he unrolled the scroll and groaned after reading it. It was a direct message from the Hokage, telling him in no uncertain terms that if he wasn't at Training Ground 7 in an hour, she would drag him there in his underwear.

With another groan, Kai sent a mental nudge to Takagoei, rousing the falcon, and told him what was going on.

-_Stupid old woman,_- Takagoei grumbled as he stretched his wings, -_can't let a guy get his sleep._-

Kai chuckled weakly, even though he was just as tired. He hadn't gotten back to his room until very late the night before. Kyo and Izumi had returned to their rooms shortly after sunset when Kai had finished playing, but the Chunin had stayed, lost in thought till the moon was well overhead.

By the time Kai finished his morning ritual, he had about fifteen minutes left to get to the training ground. Sighing at his inevitable lack of a decent meal before his testing, Kai pulled a ration bar out of his pack before launching Takagoei out of the window before following himself, leaping across the buildings of Konoha as he ate his tasteless meal.

When he finally arrived at the training ground, he found a small crowd of people waiting for him. At one end of the field was Squad 7 and Hinata, who were talking amongst themselves, apparently waiting for him. Standing nearby them was Tsunade and Shizune who were talking to Kyo and Izumi who, it seemed, had arrived long before Kai. Finally, standing off to one side, was Hyuga Neji, carefully watching over Hinata while he pretended to be brooding to himself.

"You cut it a little close Kai," Tsunade shouted out, instantly bringing all attention to the newly arrived Shinobi, "you can ask Izumi-chan, I was looking forward to dragging you here. I haven't gotten to hurt anyone but Jiraiya lately, and his cries of pain begin to get old after a while."

Kai shot a glance at Izumi, only to see her giggling into her hands. Kai smiled despite himself, Izumi never was able to keep quiet if she was privy to a joke.

"Gomen Hokage-sama," Kai bowed to the apparently irritated woman, "I didn't wake up until your messenger bird arrived."

Tsunade winced at the formal method that Kai used, "Look Kai, I appreciate the effort and all, especially with the way Naruto treats me," she shot a glare at the grinning Genin, "but you are Naruto's brother in all but blood, and he is like a brother to me, so cut me some slack and just call me Tsunade."

Kai bowed again, "Of course Tsunade-sama, I would be honored."

Tsunade grumbled, but figured that that was the best she would get, especially if Kai was anything like Naruto. She shuddered at the thought.

"So Oni-san," Naruto said as he and Hinata walked up to Kai, "are you ready for today?"

Kai raised an eyebrow at the two walking together, but filed it away for later, "You mean am I ready to kick the crap out of whoever I have to fight to show what I can do? You know it."

Naruto laughed at Kai's bravado while Hinata giggled next to him. Kai gave her a nod in greeting, "And how are you doing today Hinata? It's been quite a while."

She nodded back, giving him a small bow, "I'm doing good Kai. I hope you are the same." Kai smiled at the Hyuga heiress, somewhat perplexed by the lack of her old stutter, but he figured she had just finally grown out of it.

Kai took a moment to really look over the two. A lot had changed in the last three years, not the least of which was Naruto's terrible orange jumpsuit. He had exchanged the old one for a pair of less baggy orange pants with bandages wrapped around his right thigh and a regular pair of ninja sandals. He was wearing a long-sleeved jacket that was more black than orange, and somewhat resembled the shirt that Kai wore himself, except Kai's was purple instead of orange. On top of all that, Naruto had grown, and was now easily six feet tall if not a few inches more, and he carried himself with a kind of confidence that came from skill instead of the arrogance that he had had before. It would seem that training with Jiraiya had had a positive influence after all.

Hinata had definitely changed as well. Her once shoulder-length hair was now halfway down her back and she had gotten rid of the tan jacket she used to wear in favor of a lavender colored top with white sleeves. She still had the same soft smile perpetually on her face and Kai could tell that she was still the same girl as before, only something had brought her out of her shell a little bit.

Kai began flipping his gaze back and forth between the two Shinobi standing in front of him. They were standing unusually close to each other… They had walked over together… Hinata wasn't as shy as she used to be…

Kai smiled suddenly, "So, how long have you two been dating?"

Naruto blushed while Hinata giggled at the look on his face. "You see," Hinata said once she had calmed down, "I told you he would figure it out Naruto-kun."

Naruto's blush deepened before he gave Kai a huge smile, scratching the back of his head, "We hooked up a little bit after the Sasuke retrieval mission you helped on Onii-san. It just kind of clicked one day and, we started dating. Sure we had to keep it mostly long distance for the last few years, what with my training trip with Ero-Sennin and all, but whenever we could meet up, we did."

Hinata just nodded, agreeing with Naruto's statement as she blushed lightly. Kai laughed, "Well good, I'm happy for you two. I mean, come on Onii-san, she's had a crush on you since before I even got to Konoha the first time." They both blushed even redder at that and Kai threw back his head in a laugh before clapping his hands down on their shoulders and smiling, "Seriously though, congratulations."

They smiled at him again until Kai noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. His bloodline didn't warn him, so he didn't react as if it was an attack, but still turned to face the newcomer.

His smile didn't falter in the slightest as Neji came up to stand a few feet away. The boy had certainly changed his look from the brooding Genin he remembered. He had completely changed his outfit and now wore a pair of long white pants with a white and black, long-sleeved Gi and ninja sandals. His hair remained the same length as before and the ever present glare was still on his face. On second thought, maybe he hadn't changed too much.

"Hey Neji," Kai smiled, reaching out his hand, which Neji firmly clasped in a handshake, "how have you been? Am I going to be fighting you for my test today?"

Neji smirked, although Kai could tell it wasn't the same superior smirk it would have been three years ago, "Unfortunately no. I spoke with Hokage-sama about it, but she felt that I may be too strong for you."

Kai raised one eyebrow, "And why is that exactly?"

Neji smirked but no one spoke until Hinata cleared her throat, "Neji is the only one of the thirteen of us to have reached Jonin already."

Kai's eyes widened as he smiled, "Congratulations Neji. I guess that'll just make it that much better when I actually do beat you."

Neji smiled as well, an image that looked somewhat strange on the usually stoic boy's face, "We shall see Kai, for now I'm afraid that I am only here as Hinata-sama's escort."

"Alright Neji," Kai said, still smiling at his one-time rival, "but I'll be expecting a fight sooner or later. I still owe you a rematch for the Chunin Exams." Neji nodded before he walked off to stand in the shade of the trees on the edge of the field.

Kai nodded to Naruto and Hinata, who, he noticed, were now holding hands, before he made his way over to the Hokage. "Tsunade-sama," Kai said once he reached the group, "when will we be starting?"

Tsunade glared sternly at Kai for a few moments before realizing that her glare wasn't having its usual effect. She wheeled around to face Izumi, "You've been using my glare on this kid too much. It doesn't work anymore." The three former mercenaries shared a laugh while Tsunade pouted slightly before straightening up, "Alright you three. I was hoping to start with Kai, but his opponent hasn't arrived yet. So, we'll just skip over him and move right onto the big guns."

"Gee, thanks a lot," Kai rolled his eyes sarcastically, getting him another ineffective glare from the Hokage.

"Anyway," Tsunade said after a moment, "I want Kyo to fight again Kakashi to start things off. I'm believe that matchup will be sufficient to gauge his strengths."

Kyo nodded before stepping further toward the center of the clearing while Kai ran across to stand next to his old teammates, Hinata, and Neji.

"Who do you think is going to win Onii-san?" Naruto whispered.

Sasuke scoffed, "It isn't a fight to see who wins dobe. They're just testing this guy's skills." Kai glanced over at the broody Uchiha and saw he was wearing an outfit that looked like the same black outfit he had worn in the Chunin Exams when he fought Gaara, only with a few minor alterations to make room for his new height, which brought him to just below Kai himself. After a moment more, he was happy to notice that Sasuke didn't have his Sharingan activated. It would seem that he had learned not to try and steal techniques from allies anymore.

Sasuke caught his eye and realized what Kai had been looking at, "Tsunade-sama gave me a bit of a lecture after my probationary period was over after you and Naruto fought me in the Valley of the End. She said that if she ever found out I had used my bloodline to steal techniques from allies she would, 'take steps to ensure the Uchiha clan was never reborn unless Itachi had a sudden change of heart.' I decided that it might be a good idea to listen to what she said."

Kai's jaw almost dropped. Had Sasuke just made a joke? Was the world coming to an end?

Naruto saw his face and laughed, "Don't be too surprised Onii-san. Sasuke has lightened up quite a bit since we brought him back. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you: how did get rid of the Curse Seal?"

Before Kai could answer, Sasuke spoke up again, "And why do you have your bloodline active? Come to think of it, I don't think you've deactivated it since you got back."

Kai laughed uneasily, "Alright, one at a time. To answer your question Naruto, I didn't remove it so much as Takagoei did. It was the special chakra he has as a Guardian Spirit that allowed him to remove it. As for your question Sasuke, let's just say that due to circumstances beyond my control it is easier to just leave my bloodline active. A lot has changed in three years and some people may find my eyes… unnerving, even without my bloodline active."

"What do you mean Kai?" Sakura asked, curiosity and confusion written across her face as Neji slid closer so he could better hear the answer. Kai took a moment before answering to look over his final teammate. Sakura, like the others, had changed quite a bit. She was wearing a dark pink top with a lighter pink undershirt and dark grey shorts and sandals. She, like Naruto, had bandages over her right shin with her equipment pouch strapped over those and her Hitai-ate was still holding back most of her shoulder-length hair.

Finally, Kai sighed before turning toward the five and stopped the chakra flow to his eyes. Almost immediately there was a gasp as Kai's burning eyes were revealed to his old friends and teammates.

"H…How?" Hinata said, the smallest hint of her old stammer back in her voice.

Kai thought out his words carefully, "Let's just say that Naruto and I have something else in common now…" He caught Naruto's eye before glancing down at his stomach.

Naruto paled slightly but before he could say anything, Sakura spoke up, "You mean… you have a biju…"

Kai immediately shook his head, "No, not a biju, but a lesser demon that I helped out during my travels before I met Kyo and Izumi. I basically saved his life and he decided to seal himself inside me, so I really didn't have much choice."

"But…" Naruto was clearly confused, "That should be impossible. Ero-Sennin has been teaching me a little about seals in general and my seal in particular and he said that the only way for a human to contain a demon would be if it was sealed when the human was born."

Kai nodded, somewhat impressed by Naruto's show of knowledge, "That is true for a normal seal, but mine is a demonic seal applied by the demon himself. I had nothing to do with it, and if I had, I would have hated myself for the headache I had afterwards. Stupid thing lasted three months!"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the disgruntled look on Kai's face and that broke the ice for the rest of the group. Once they had all calmed down, Kai shot the pink haired Kunoichi a grateful look and smiled, "Would you all like to meet him?"

They immediately flinched. "You mean, your demon?" Naruto said slowly.

Kai nodded, smiling widely, trying to calm his friends down, "He isn't like Kyuubi. He has no intention whatsoever of killing anyone that I'm not trying to kill as well. To put it simply, he and I are partners, kind of like Takagoei and I, only he prefers to stay inside the seal instead of traveling with me constantly, although he has been quite a bit of help at times."

Kai heard a mental laugh coming from his inner demon, -**'At times,' my hoof! I carried your ungrateful ass halfway across Wind Country because you couldn't handle the heat and all I get is a, 'he is helpful at times!'**-

Kai could tell Kanba was joking, but still winced slightly at the volume the demon was using. "Hang on a second guys," Kai said, "I think he wants to meet you." Before they could say anything else, Kai formed a quick chain of seals and called out, "_Kuchiyose: Kanba!"_

There was a huge cloud of smoke and Kai was suddenly standing on the back of a large black stallion, much to the shock and astonishment of his friends. Almost instantly, Kai was knocked off the back of his partner by a powerful slap to the back of his head. He landed in a heap next to the demon, who carefully stepped back to avoid hurting anyone as Izumi stomped over to the downed Chunin.

"You baka!" Izumi practically screamed, "You distracted everyone and Kyo-kun almost got hurt!" Kai glanced over and saw that Kyo and Kakashi had been fighting, although they hadn't been using anything other than regular kunai. Kyo had a sweatdrop running down the back of his head as Izumi continued to scream at Kai and mouthed an apology to the unfortunate boy.

"Sorry Izumi," Kai said as he pulled himself into a sitting position, "I wasn't thinking. I was just trying to explain things to everyone. I mean the whole demon sealed inside me thing…"

Izumi smiled suddenly, catching everyone but Kai off guard, "It's alright Kai-kun. Just be more careful next time. Oh, and I already explained Kanba to Tsunade and Shizune so you don't have to worry about that."

"Thanks," Kai smiled as Izumi turned and ran back over to Tsunade who was laughing at the expression on Kai's face.

"She's a little crazy isn't she Onii-san?" Naruto whispered after a moment.

Kai flinched slightly when he heard Naruto and saw Izumi's ears twitch, "Naruto, Izumi has good hearing. _Very_ good hearing…" Naruto paled slightly and looked at Kai, almost pleading for help. Kai just laughed, "Sorry Onii-san, I can't help you. I've traveled with her for three years and I know better than to get in her way when she tries to get back at someone. At best, you'll end up right alongside her target; at worst, she'll think up something completely different for you. You're on your own."

Kai stood up again and turned back to Kanba. Anything he was about to say was immediately swept from his mind at the sight before him. Kanba was lying on his stomach with Sakura and Hinata on either side of him, both scratching his mane. "**Kai,"** the demon said, his eyes rolled back into his head in pleasure, **"I like your friends already."** Kai just laughed.

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Kyo and Kakashi fought nearly to a standstill, using everything from Kyo's Goryu to Kakashi's Raikiri, although neither was fighting to kill. In the end, Kakashi managed to disarm Kyo pinned him to the ground with a kunai at his throat.

Kai smiled. Even though he hadn't defeated his opponent, a fact that Kyo was sure to beat himself up about and use as an excuse to train even harder in the coming weeks, he still did more than well enough to earn a Jonin rank.

Next up was Izumi and Tsunade. The match-up surprised most, but it really made sense when you thought about it. Tsunade was the only Shinobi in Konoha who knew about Izumi's heritage and was strong enough to fight against it without worrying about hurting herself.

That fight started off strongly and ended on the same note. By the time the two were done, the entire training ground was dotted with craters of various sizes that had been caused by both fighters. Kai sighed, Izumi had gone overboard again and had nearly gone into a bloodlust rage until Tsunade, noticing the symptoms, stopped playing around and knocked her out before handing her to Kyo with a nod.

Even though there had been complications, there was no doubt in anyone's mind about Izumi getting Jonin as well. The only one left was Kai…

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"So Tsunade-sama," Kai asked excitedly after the Hokage had caught her breath, "who am I fighting?"

Tsunade smiled at the eager boy before frowning, "Well, he _should_ have been here an hour ago when we started this thing, but it would seem as if he slept in."

Just then, the sound of barking could be heard coming from the direction of the village. Kai turned just in time to see a huge white shape come bounding out of the woods and charge straight for him. Without thinking, Kai reactivated his bloodline and leapt to the side, just as the creature reached him. He managed to avoid it, but Tsunade couldn't say the same. She knew what it was, of course, but she hadn't expected Kai to be able to dodge as quickly as he did, and because of that, she was bowled over by the huge form of Akamaru.

"Akamaru!" Tsunade shouted, "Get the hell off of me!"

Almost immediately, Kiba appeared next to his oversized companion and pulled the canine off of the Hokage. Kiba, like Hinata had gotten rid of his old jacket in favor of a dark grey shirt with matching pants. He wore regular black Ninja sandals and still had the same Inuzuka markings on his cheeks. Other than that, the boy looked more feral than before, obviously due to him growing into his family heritage.

Akamaru was another story entirely. Kai never would have thought it possible, but the tiny little puppy that used to be small enough to sit on Kiba's head was now bigger than Kiba himself, and Kiba was the same size as Naruto.

"Damn Kiba," Kai said, surprised, "what have you been feeding him?"

Kiba froze for a moment before turning and giving Kai a feral smile, "Kai! When did you get back?"

"Just yesterday," Kai turned to Tsunade, eager to get started, "Am I fighting Kiba, or does Akamaru just have bad timing?"

Tsunade laughed at the look on Kai's face before nodding, "Kiba is your opponent. I figured that since you both have animal partners you fight with; it may be interesting to see how you match up."

Kiba's eyes widened slightly before he looked frantically around the area, clearly trying to find Kai's animal partner. Then, his eyes settled on the form of Kanba, "You mean that horse!" he practically shouted.

Kai followed Kiba's line of sight and sighed dramatically when he saw that Kanba was still enjoying the attention being layered upon him by Hinata and Saukra. He sighed, "No, not Kanba. That lazy-ass wouldn't get up now if I begged him to."

Kai smiled when he heard Kanba's indignant **"HEY!"**

"Besides," Kai continued, wanting to get this out of the way, "Kanba isn't exactly a normal horse anyway. He's a demon."

Kiba froze for a moment before nodding, "Well that would explain his strange scent. But if you're not fighting with him, then who are you fighting with?"

Kai smiled before lifting his arm into the air. With a fierce cry that make Kiba wince, Takagoei dove out of the sky before back winging harshly in time to land easily on Kai's forearm. "This," Kai said gesturing with his free hand, "Is Takagoei, my family's Guardian Spirit."

Kiba stared dumbly at the falcon for a moment before letting out a huge laugh, "THAT! You're going to fight me and Akamaru with that puny little CANARY?!" Kiba fell to the ground in hysterics as everyone watched.

-_Kai,_- Takagoei asked mentally, letting out little peeps of annoyance as the only audible expression of his anger, -_can I hurt him yet?_-

Kai grinned, hearing the anger in his voice and feeling how tense his partner was getting, "Not yet, but in a few minutes we can take him down."

Kiba immediately grew silent and jumped back to his feet, "You think you can take me?"

Kai heard Hinata and Naruto groan from behind him as Kiba's Inuzuka pride began to rear its head. Kai only smiled, "I know I can Kiba."

Kiba began to growl, "Fine then, let's get this thing started. AKAMARU!" With a bark, Akamaru was at his master's side and they made their way to the far side of the clearing, obviously waiting for Kai to take his position.

Once Kai and Takagoei were in place, with the falcon sitting comfortably on Kai's right shoulder, Tsunade stepped up between the two, "Alright you two, this is a no holds barred match, just like in the Chunin Exams, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would try to avoid killing each other. We have five of the best medics in Konoha here today, so you shouldn't have to worry about hurting each other, just don't go for killing blows. But other than that, I want to see all you've got!"

Kai paused for a moment before turning to Kyo and Izumi, "What do you guys think?" The two soon-to-be Jonin knew what he was thinking and they talked with each other quietly for a moment before Izumi ran up to Tsunade and talked to her. After nearly a full minute in which Kiba was clearly getting antsy, Tsunade nodded, which prompted Izumi to turn to Kai and give him a thumbs up.

Kai smiled before lifting his arm up to Takagoei who stepped easily onto it before being launched into the sky, easily gaining height in the late summer air. "Alright Kiba," Kai shouted across the clearing, "before we start, I have a question for you."

"What!" Kiba shouted back, obviously anxious to get started.

"Have you heard of a Shinobi named Kagetaka?"

The Konoha Shinobi all froze. Kagetaka had quite the reputation in the Shinobi world today as a relatively new member of the mercenary and assassination business. Even so, he was a feared individual and many up-and-coming, and often cocky, Shinobi aspired to fight against him one day.

It was then that Squad 7 put two and two together. "You don't think…" Naruto turned to Kakashi, "You don't think Kai really _is_ Kagetaka do you?"

Kakashi nodded while Sasuke and Sakura looked toward their old teammate with awe, "It would seem so Naruto. After all, he did disguise himself under the same name yesterday in the council chamber. I just didn't think he was the _real_ Kagetaka."

Kiba was not privy to this conversation though, "Of course I've heard of him. Why wouldn't I have heard of him?"

Kai smiled, "Have you ever wanted to fight him?"

Kiba was beginning to get nervous and excited at the same time, "Of course! Who wouldn't want a challenge like that?"

Kai's smile grew even wider as he formed a half seal, "Then get ready to get your wish." With a tiny pulse of chakra, Kai activated various storage seals tattooed onto his body, summoning the clothing held within. He was immediately engulfed in a cloud of smoke, which quickly blew away in the morning breeze to reveal him dressed in the same clothes as he had been in yesterday."

A moment later, Kai closed his eyes and shifted personas. A moment after that, his monotone voice drifted across the clearing, "Are you ready Kiba-san? I think it's time to fight."

Tsunade was fighting to hold back her laughter at the look on Kiba's face. It was a strange mix of excitement, confusion, and horror; almost as if the boy couldn't decide what to feel.

But then Kiba managed to pull himself together and smirked at his opponent, "You don't honestly expect me to believe that YOU are Kagetaka, do you?"

"And why wouldn't I be?" Kagetaka asked evenly.

Kiba's smirk faltered for a moment before he rolled his eyes, "Those mind games may have worked on me before you left, but not anymore."

"Tell me Kiba," Kagetaka said slowly, a smirk hidden behind his mask, "what do you know about Kagetaka?"

Kiba adopted a confident smirk, "I know he is dangerous, I know he is deadly, and I know he is _not_ you."

Kagetaka smiled again as he drew Reimeiken and formed a chain of one-handed seals to drop his weights, "Are you sure Kiba?" Suddenly, Kagetaka disappeared in a blur, making everyone jump. Before Kiba could react, he felt the presence of someone behind him and then the cold press of steel on his neck, "Are you absolutely sure?"

Kiba froze, for the first time feeling doubt seep into him. Kagetaka sighed and removed his blade from Kiba's throat, "I'm not going to fight you when you're unprepared. I just wanted you to know that I _am_ Kagetaka. Don't underestimate me."

Kagetaka vanished again only to reappear back where he had started, "Are you ready now Kiba?"

The Inuzuka nodded, still slightly shocked, before growling and clenching his fist, "Alright, let's get this thing going Kai!" Kagetaka nodded and sheathed his blade again before taking his Taijutsu stance and waiting for Kiba and Akamaru to make the first move.

Kiba was not going to disappoint. He turned to his partner and fished in his weapon pouch, "Alright Akamaru, let's not take any chances and get right into the good stuff." The dog barked its agreement as he caught the soldier pill Kiba threw to him and swallowed it. Almost immediately, Akamaru's hair stood on end and turned to a deep red color.

As Kagetaka watched, more than a little interested, Kiba began forming a quick chain of seals, "_Shikyaku no Jutsu_!" Immediately, Kiba's hair began to spike up a little more as his fingernails grew into short claws and his fangs grew out over his lip. A moment later, Kiba hunched over and leveled a glare at his opponent before forming more seals and calling out in a deeper, more feral voice, "_Jūjin Bunshin!_"

Both Kiba and Akamaru were then covered in a huge cloud of smoke and before Kagetaka could react, two Kibas charged out of the smoke, running low to the ground before one jumped into the air and began spinning, yelling out, "_Tsūga!_"

The Kiba clone's chakra spread out and turned the spinning Shinobi into a fast traveling human tornado that was flying straight toward Kagetaka. Thinking fast while still keeping an eye on the other Kiba clone, who was watching him carefully; he did the only thing he could do: jump.

Kagetaka focused chakra to his legs and leapt into the air at the last second, barely managing to clear the swirling vortex that the Kiba clone had created. Then, he looked up in time to see the second clone flying towards him with his own _Tsūga_.

Grimacing, Kagetaka reached out to his partner, feeding him a small amount of his chakra. Just before the Kiba clone's attack hit, Kagetaka was swept away in the talons of a now oversized Takagoei.

The falcon circled the training ground for a moment before gliding down to set Kagetaka at the opposite end of the field from the two Kibas. "As you can see," Kagetaka taunted, "Takagoei is not nearly as helpless as you may have believed." The giant falcon remained in the air over Kai's head, flapping his wings just enough to stay aloft without using too much energy. It took a lot to keep a form this large in the air and fighting, so he couldn't afford to waste any of his strength.

The Kibas growled and charged, running low to the ground once more. Kagetaka shrugged and clasped his hands together with his thumbs, pinky and pointer fingers sticking up, "_Karada Bunshin no Jutsu!_" The two Kibas were blinded by the bright light that came from Kagetaka for a moment before it dimmed, revealing two copies instead of one.

Before the two Kibas could react, each Kagetaka had picked one and engaged it in Taijutsu while Takagoei rose into the sky once more, waiting for an opportunity to strike. The real Kiba had the unfortunate luck to be caught with the copy of Kagetaka that had a sword, while the other one was conspicuous only the lack of a blade on his back.

Kiba tried to lead in with another _Tsūga_, but before he could start spinning himself, Kagetaka had put on an extra burst of speed and sprinted forward, driving his elbow into Kiba's stomach. The Inuzuka stumbled back, struggling to catch his breath as he held his stomach with one hand and drew a kunai with the other, holding the short blade defensively as he slowly backed away from the assassin.

"So," Kagetaka said slowly, "you want to play with knives do you? Very well, we can take this up a notch." As soon as he finished speaking, Kagetaka reached up and drew Reimeiken once more, bringing it around and standing in a basic guarding stance with the blade before him, pointing up towards the sky while he stood in a wide stance.

As Kagetaka stood there, waiting for Kiba to recover, he felt a tingle of warning from his bloodline before spinning around and sending a sharp punch to the face of the figure flying toward him. As it turned out though, it was his own clone.

A bright flash of light emanated from the place on the clone's face where Kagetaka's fist had touched him and when it cleared, there was only one figure standing there. Kiba, who was being helped up by Akamaru, who was still in Kiba's form, saw this but was too concerned with continuing the fight to think about what had happened.

Kiba and Akamaru glared at the slightly stunned Kagetaka who stumbled slightly before turning back to his two opponents. When the two clones' skin had touched, the Jutsu was canceled and Kagetaka was bombarded by the memories of the other clone's battle with Akamaru. Apparently the Nin-dog's feral fighting style had caught the clone off guard and after that it was just a case of wrong place at the wrong time that lead to the end of Kagetaka's Jutsu.

Kiba wasn't faring too much better though. He knew that he was no match for Kagetaka in a straight fight; he simply didn't have the same combat experience that his opponent did, but that didn't mean he was out of it yet.

"Come on Akamaru, we only have one chance left," Kiba growled out, hoping he would have a chance to use his technique.

Akamaru barked his agreement and released the chakra flow that was keeping him in his Kiba form, revealing his too-big-to-be-allowed canine body once again. With a light grunt, Akamaru jumped into the air and started spinning.

Naruto and Hinata's eyes widened when they saw Akamaru's maneuver. Naruto acted first, "TAKE COVER!" he shouted, pulling Hinata with him behind a tree. The other observing Shinobi paused for a second before dodging behind their own cover just as Akamaru started spraying jets of urine toward Kagetaka.

The assassin lost his unemotional front when he was forced to dodge the unusual technique, "WHAT THE HELL KIND OF ATTACK IS THAT?!?!"

Kiba only smirked, watching as Kagetaka dodged around Akamaru's attack, knowing that it was only a matter of time. Finally, the tail end of a stream caught Kagetaka across his forearm, immediately soaking into the cloth. "Oh dude," Kagetaka shouted, extremely disgusted, "that's nasty!"

The other Shinobi in the clearing, even those who knew what the technique lead up to, could only agree as they came out from behind their trees while Akamaru slowed his mid-air spin and landed next to Kiba once again. "You're about to see our ultimate technique," Kiba taunted as he jumped into the air only to land on Akamaru's back. The dog stood there steadily, almost smirking at Kagetaka as he looked on in slight confusion, wondering what kind of attack required the target getting pissed on first.

Kiba quickly ran through a chain of seals before calling out another technique, "_Jinjū Konbi Henge: Sōtōrō!_" The two were engulfed in a cloud of smoke for a moment before two loud growls cut across the clearing. Suddenly, a wind whipped up and the smoke vanished revealing a huge wolf, easily seven feet tall at its shoulder, with two heads, each of which were glaring at Kagetaka as they growled.

Kagetaka swallowed uneasily as he stared down the oversized white wolf and held Reimeiken in front of him in a defensive stance. The wolf let out a growling laugh before one of the heads spoke in Kiba's voice, "You really think your little knife can stop us now? Just give it up man, you've got no chance."

Kagetaka's eyes twitched down to Reimeiken before a smirk grew across his face. "You know what Kiba," he said with a hint of sarcasm in his otherwise unemotional voice, "you're right."

Around the clearing numerous voices were heard, trying to figure out what the assassin was saying. Although neither of the combatants knew it, the sounds of Tsunade's battle with Izumi had drawn a bit of a crowd, made up of civilians and Shinobi alike, that had only grown as word spread of the new Shinobi fighting against Inuzuka Kiba. Most had been watching since shortly after the fight started and the crowd just kept growing, hoping to gauge the strength of the new guy for themselves.

Naruto was among those confused by Kagetaka's statement, "So… is Onii-san giving up?"

Kakashi shook his head, "I don't think so Naruto. I think he is just playing a little mind game with Kiba before he pulls out another new technique. The question is, what could he have in his arsenal that will be enough to stop Kiba now?" The question bounced around the heads of those close enough to hear Kakashi speak. What could he do next?

Kagetaka merely smirked before speaking again, "I can't beat you with Reimeiken… as it is now. I guess I'll just have to change things up a little then." He turned his head slightly so he could yell over his shoulder, "Hey, Kyo, Izumi. Which form do you think?"

Kyo and Izumi whispered back and forth for a minute, acting for all the world as if they were talking about something of terrific importance instead of just which weapon Kai would use. Finally, Izumi straightened up and shouted back, "Doton Kai-kun, you need some more practice with it and this is probably the best chance you'll get to face an opponent that can match its power."

Kagetaka sighed, they knew he hated using the Doton Reimeiken, mostly because it was the slowest form and fighting style he knew. He was more of a fast fighter, and hated the moments of vulnerability he had while swinging the heavy weapon around. No matter how strong he had gotten physically, he could never completely eliminate the weaknesses that the weapon's size created.

But he also knew that if he tried using another form, Izumi would beat him into the ground later. They may have been back in Konoha, but she and Kyo were still his sensei and if he didn't listen to them, they would be sure to show him the error in his ways, usually by stomping him into the ground during a training session, in a populated area if at all possible to increase his embarrassment at getting beaten by a girl who sang children's songs as she fought...

In the end, he really had only one choice. Focusing his chakra, Kai gave it the proper _twist_ and Reimeiken started glowing a deep red-brown color. As the viewing Shinobi watched the blade began to shift and grow in his hands, first stretching outward to six feet in length before the top four feet began expanding into a huge blade.

Kagetaka shifted his grip on the now two foot leather wrapped handle and took a wider stance to help him balance the new weight easier. When the light from the blade receded into the now red-brown crystal on the pommel, the change was more than obvious.

The silver-white blade was definitely intimidating as the late morning sun glinted off the sharp edge and around the dark brown Kanji that rose up one side of the blade and down the other. Finally, as last of the glow died away, Kagetaka spoke again, "_Doton Reimeiken!_"

Upon hearing his opponent, Kiba seemed to regain his own ability to speak, "You think that just because your knife is a little bigger now that you can beat us?" There was a growl of agreement from the other head, obviously Akamaru, but both of them seemed a little uneasy now.

The Shinobi around them were speechless. No one had ever seen a weapon that could change shape like that, at least not without the use of a transformation Jutsu of some kind.

Kagetaka nodded to Kiba, "Well, if you're so confident, why don't you try it out for yourself?"

Kiba growled for a moment before the huge wolf leapt forward and began spinning, "_Garōga!_" Kagetaka thought about bringing up Reimeiken to block, but something in his gut told him to move. Deciding to follow his instincts, Kagetaka jumped to the side, barely dodging the outside edge of the furious tornado, but when he regained his feet, a sharp, lancing pain shot through his right leg. Looking down, he saw that the lower half of his right leg was covered in shallow cuts that left his pant leg and part of his boot shredded.

The Kiba-wolf came to a stop about thirty feet away and turned back to Kagetaka with what had to be a superior smirk on their faces "You see now," Kiba called out, "even if you dodge the attack, the cutting winds from our _Garōga_ will still catch you. We toned the attack down since this is just a sparring match, but if it were a real battle, your leg would be gone."

Kagetaka blinked before nodding in the wolf's direction, "I appreciate your restraint Kiba and Akamaru, but I don't think I'll be trying a dodge like that again. So come on, give me your best shot!" Kagetaka took a seemingly casual stance, with his Zanbato resting perpendicular to the ground with the point digging in slightly while he held it up with his right hand and formed a half seal with the other.

Kiba and Akamaru growled, "Alright, if you want another, then we'll give it to ya! _Garōga_!" The wolf once again leapt forward and started spinning, but Kagetaka didn't move this time. Then, when his opponent was only ten feet away, Kagetaka let a pulse of chakra run through his weapon and into the ground. Before anyone knew what had happened, a huge slab of rock shot up from the ground between Kagetaka and the still spinning wolf.

Without hesitating for even a moment, Kagetaka thrust his weapon completely into the ground before ripping it out in a shower of dirt and leaping into the air, using chakra to enhance his strength enough for him to carry his heavy weapon with him.

The attack didn't stop though. Kiba and Akamaru continued to drill their way through the slab of stone in a matter of seconds, only for Kai to come crashing down with a stone encased blade that was easily double the size it had been before. The flat side of the huge weapon slammed down on both of the heads of the wolf at once, sending it crashing to the ground.

As the dust from the destroyed rock wall settled around the clearing, the onlookers could hear the pathetic whimpers coming from the giant wolf. By the time they could see again, many people were surprised to see that Kiba and Akamaru weren't unconscious after the terrible blow. In fact, their Jutsu hadn't even been canceled. Instead, they lay on the ground with their front paws over each of the giant heads, apparently rubbing at the spots where Kagetaka had hit them, hoping to alleviate some of the pain.

Kagetaka himself stood about ten feet away from them, panting softly while slumping over with his stone encrusted blade in his hands with the top half of it resting on the ground.

On the sidelines, Tsunade turned to Kyo and Izumi, "What the hell kind of technique was that? What were you two teaching this boy?"

Izumi giggled at Tsunade's obvious frustration before shaking her head, "Not us Tsunade-sensei, Reimeiken. Kai's sword is almost sentient. As far as I can tell, there is a long term Jutsu that was forged into the weapon when it was made. The crystal on the pommel acts as a focus and allows Kai to manipulate his regular lightning element chakra into any other chakra type, which then changes the blade's form into one of five different weapons, depending on the element. That is his Doton form. Each time he learned to use each weapon to a certain degree, the Jutsu would activate and he would experience what he called a 'recording from his ancestors,' where he would basically be shown how to use a special technique that was unique to that particular form. For the Doton Reimeiken, the technique allows him to cause stone and dirt to compress onto the blade, effectively increasing its size and power. After that, once he increased his chakra control and skill with the weapon even further, he gained a small amount of elemental manipulation, but only for the element of the weapon he was using, and only if he had the weapon in hand."

Tsunade's head was spinning slightly, "You could have simplified that a lot you know. That was almost too complex for this early in the morning."

Izumi giggled again, "But it wouldn't have been as much fun now would it Tsunade-sensei?"

Tsunade grumbled while Kyo chuckled alongside his girlfriend, but their attention was quickly drawn back to the fight when the wolf let out an extremely loud bark.

Kagetaka flinched slightly at the noise, resisting the urge to rub at his slightly throbbing ears. Watching as the wolf rose to its feet again, growling savagely at him. "That was a dirty trick," Kiba shouted out over Akamaru's growls.

Kagetaka shrugged, "I am no normal Shinobi. I thought you knew that Kiba; assassins don't always play fair."

Kiba growled again, "That may be, but don't think that we'll fall for the same trick twice." With another bark, this time not quite as loud, Kiba and Akamaru launched another _Garōga_, flying once more toward Kagetaka.

This time the attack came from too close of a range for him to dodge or even think about counterattacking like he had before. Quickly deciding on his only option, Kai Held his now eight foot weapon up at the highest angle he could before driving it down into the ground again. With a pulse of chakra, he jerked it back, just in time to pull out half of the now enormous blade and duck behind it, shielding himself from the furious attack Kiba and Akamaru were delivering.

To the watching Shinobi, the two attacks seemed stalemated for a moment until a sharp cracking sound split the air. Shortly afterwards, small shards of stone began flying away from the stone barrier, flying in every direction, although none of them went far enough to hit anyone.

Finally, with one last cracking sound, the stone encasing Reimeiken gave out, delivering the full force of the _Garōga_ onto the blade itself which, without the added support of having half the blade in the ground, was quickly pushed back into Kagetaka, throwing him back several yards as the great wolf slowed its attack and watched.

Before Kiba and Akamaru could advance to 'finish' their opponent, an impossibly loud screech was heard and they were forced to dodge to the side as a now even larger Takagoei struck from the sky, raking the ground where they had just been with his vicious talons before soaring back into the air and hovering protectively over his partner.

-_We don't have a choice Kai,_- the falcon said quickly as soon as he was sure Kiba and Akamaru had been delayed, -_drop the guise and use the technique, it's all we have to beat them._-

Kagetaka nodded and closed his eyes and relaxed, a moment later, he was Kai again. As he opened his eyes again, he let his chakra flow cut off and Reimeiken shifted back to its neutral form before he sheathed it, forming a seal and causing his Kagetaka disguise to disappear in the same motion.

"I'm going to have to get him to tell me how he does that," Naruto mumbled on the sidelines, oblivious to the nods of his teammates and girlfriend next to him.

"So, are you giving up yet?" Kiba taunted as Akamaru continued to glare at Kai.

"Actually," Kai responded as he brought his hands together into a _tori_ seal, "I'm only just beginning." Kai's hands quickly became a blur as he began speeding through hand seals faster than most were able to follow. "You know Kiba," Kai said while still speeding through seals, "it's rather ironic that Tsunade-sama chose you to be my opponent."

"And why is that," Kiba answered warily. He knew that they should probably attack, but he was curious to see what Kai could possibly bring out against his ultimate technique, besides, he hadn't had this much fun in a long time.

"Because we're a lot alike," Kai continued, the number of seals he had formed was passing the one hundred mark and many watchers were beginning to get excited, "aside from the obvious differences in our regular styles, we have several things in common. We both tend to be stubborn when we're in a battle, which can lead us to make stupid decisions, like when I tried to block your attack a few minutes ago and when you made that attack after my sword changed without testing what it could do first. But getting back to the point, we both also have partners that we fight alongside," Kai paused as his hands finally stopped, landing on the _tori_ seal once again, "…and we both have a technique where we combine with our partners to increase our own strength."

Kiba's eyes suddenly widened and he began to call for another _Garōga_, but could only watch as Kai leapt into the air, only to be caught around his shoulders and upper arms by Takagoei's talons as he called out his technique, "_Taka Konbi Henge: Kaze no Kontan!_"

The two were suddenly engulfed in a cloud of smoke, but it didn't last for long. Almost immediately, there was a burst of wind from within the smoke that cleared it away, and once it had, everyone knew why.

In the place of Kai and Takagoei was a creature that most had only heard of in children's books. The sleek creature was covered with black, white-tipped feathers and would have stood about five feet tall from its strange looking front talons to its shoulder and from its beak to the tip of its feathered tail it was nearly eight feet long. It had a huge wingspan, around twelve feet, although it was probably more. From its position in the air, beating its mighty wings to stay aloft, it glared at Kiba with piercing Miraigan eyes, showing the first bit of influence from Kai. It opened its beak and screeched defiance at the huge wolf which quickly growled back, but those who knew what to listen for could hear a hint of eager anticipation behind the noise.

"It…it….it's a… a… a…" Tsunade was having a very hard time forming coherent speech.

Izumi sighed, everyone always reacted this way when they first say Kai use this Jutsu, "Yes Tsunade-sensei, Kai and Takagoei used a Jutsu that turned them into a Gryphon."

The gryphon shrieked again before it brought its front talons together, which brought everyone's attention to them. Once again, Tsunade was left speechless, "Wait, is he...making hand seals?"

Kyo decided to answer this time, "Yep. He has five 'fingers' on his front talons and the claws are a little shorter so he doesn't stab himself when he makes seals. He can basically use them just like in his human form, except his arms don't have the same range of movement." Tsunade was, once again, left speechless.

After a quick chain of seals, the Kai-gryphon opened its beak and let out another screech, but this time, a gigantic fireball came with it. Kiba was understandably shocked, but he still managed to doge to the side in time to avoid the Jutsu, but he couldn't avoid the swooping strike Kai made next. Before Kiba could recover, he swept his wings back and shot forward, changing what little height he had into speed before reaching out with one fisted talon-hand and gave Kiba a sharp knock on his head, sending him face-first into the dirt.

Before Tsunade could say anything, Kyo spoke up again, "He can't talk in that form, but fusing with Takagoei boosts his control enough to perform the Jutsu without speaking. He has to use both hands for the seals though. Kai's chakra control when he is in his human form is good enough for him to be able to use Jutsu with one-handed seals, but he can't use them silently. It's a fairly even trade, even though he sacrifices a little of the power of the Jutsu in both cases."

Tsunade nodded again before focusing back on the fight, where Kai was continuously dive bombing Kiba and Akamaru, giving one or the other a sharp rap on the skull each time he dove before using the rest of his momentum to regain his height. After that first fireball, Kiba hadn't been able to recover enough to mount a counterattack.

While this was going on, she silently marveled at how far Kai had come from the Chunin that Sarutobi had described to her so long ago. He was certainly a talented Shinobi, although probably not at the same rank as Kyo and Izumi. But just for him to be able to use one handed signs and silent Jutsu, even if they weren't at the same time or even the same form, attested to his incredible ability.

One of the first lesions that she had been taught was that there were four basic aspects to every Jutsu: the chakra flow to fuel it, the hand signs to shape it to the users will, the willpower to control the Jutsu after it was activated, and actually speaking the technique as the trigger. Many Shinobi learned to skip, or at least delay, the speaking portion of the Jutsu, but it was definitely an achievement for someone to be able to do that _and_ only use one handed seals. Kai was just one surprise on top of another.

But, as she watched the fight continue, she knew that he had his weak points as well. Besides his limited amount of chakra, Tsunade knew that he would be much more hard pressed in more drawn out battles, and he probably knew it too, which explained the katana. But then, Kenjutsu wasn't effective on everyone, and Kai would have trouble fighting anyone who fought with a more ranged weapon.

On the other hand, Kagetaka's calling card was the white feathered arrows he used on his assassination targets, which lead Tsunade to believe that Kai was also at least marginally skilled with a bow. If that were true, then it would have to be taken into account when it finally came time to decide his rank.

After watching Kiba (or was it Akamaru) take yet another sharp rap to his skull, Tsunade decided she'd seen enough. "Alright you two," she shouted, taking a few steps toward the center of the field, "I've seen enough. Come on back in." The Kai-gryphon gave a screech before turning his latest dive into a hard, backwinging glide that brought him slowly to the ground right in front of Kiba and Akamaru.

The two great beasts nodded to each other before both were engulfed in a cloud of smoke that slowly dispersed in the light breeze, revealing two panting Shinobi, one tired looking dog, and a falcon perched on the shoulder of one of the Shinobi that looked perfectly fine.

After a moment to catch their breath, Kai ran through some seals and used a Jutsu to repair his clothing before he and Kiba, with Akamaru following shortly behind him, turned and started toward Tsunade, chatting happily with each other as if they hadn't just been on opposite sides of the field of battle.

As they got closer, Tsunade caught the tail end of their conversation. "No way," Kiba nearly shouted, "We would've totally beaten you in the end."

Kai shot him a smirk, "Kiba, you couldn't even touch us in the air. There's no way you would have been able to beat us."

"Don't underestimate us, you won't live to regret it," Kiba smiled, showing that the potential threat wasn't intended as one, "I guess there's only one way to settle this though."

Kai nodded, "As soon as I get a chance, and spar with everyone else I have to, "we'll have a rematch."

Kiba nodded and clapped a hand onto Kai's shoulder, "Count on it."

"Alright boys," Tsunade said when they stopped in front of her, "If you're done posturing for now I have made my decision. Kai, upon evaluation of your skills and comparing them with your known limitations," Kai flinched slightly but waited for Tsunade to finish, "I have decided to temporarily restore your Chunin rank as of now."

Kai smiled widely, but it faltered after a moment, "Tsunade-sama… why did you say temporarily." The worry was clearly evident in his voice, and Tsunade couldn't help but smile disarmingly at him.

"I said that because as soon as I can arrange it, I intend to have you fight someone else of a higher rank than Kiba to see if you deserve a higher rank yourself."

Kai's eyes widened. He had, at the very least, expected to be given his Chunin rank back, but to have a chance to go even further so soon after returning was more than he had even considered. He bowed to the Godaime, "Thank you Tsunade-sama. I appreciate the opportunity."

Tsunade waved her hand at him, "Think nothing of it Kai. I just like to make sure the right people get the right rank, and someone of your skills can't be kept at Chunin."

Naruto walked over in time to hear the last part of the conversation and decided to put in his two bits. "But Baa-chan," Naruto whined, "I'm still a Genin and we all know I'm stronger than that."

Tsunade's eyes gained a mischievous glint that Kai recognized only because of how long he had spent with Izumi. "Naruto," Tsunade said calmly, "I'm sorry, but I can't just give you a promotion for no reason. Kai was already a Chunin before he left Konoha, and his reputation outside of the village gives me legitimate reason to give him an opportunity to advance further. You didn't really do too much during your training trip that was noteworthy; if you had, then you might have been right there next to Kai."

Naruto started whining again, "But Baa-chaaaaaaaaan!"

Tsunade sighed, the glint in her eye had quickly been changed to a look of annoyance, "There's nothing I can do Naruto. You'll just have to take the Chunin Exams the next time they come around. If you pass the exams and show enough skill in the process, I'll be able to pull some strings and get you immediately tested for Jonin potential, but other than that, I can't help you."

Naruto sighed, but nodded and turned back to Hinata before they started back toward Konoha. Just before he left the training ground, Naruto turned back and shouted, "KAI! DON"T FORGET YOU OWE ME A SPAR TOO!"

Kai groaned. He actually had forgotten about that. So now, besides his Ino-based worries/confusion, he had to deal with Neji, Kiba, Naruto, not to mention any other Shinobi who would want to test themselves against the 'new guy,' probably with lee at the front of the pack…

He fought down the urge to shudder at that thought, but Tsunade noticed his slightly drawn face. "What's wrong Kai?" She asked, her medic/grandmother side coming out.

Kai couldn't help the shudder this time, "I just thought of Rock Lee wanting to spar with me now that I'm back and the horror stories I've heard about the Genjutsu he uses with his sensei."

The sound of laughter cut across the clearing and everyone turned to see that it was coming from Neji. The Jonin only smiled, ignoring the looks of surprise on everyone's faces, "Now you'll get to see what it's like Kai; just be glad that you don't have to experience it every day."

----------

"That was seriously a great match Kai," Sakura said from her seat across the table, "I never would have imagined you would have gotten that good." After the spar, Kiba had invited Kai along for lunch and had picked up Sakura before she left the area. They had invited Sasuke and Neji along as well, but they had declined, and Naruto and Hinata had already gone off on their own.

They were actually eating in the Inuzuka compound. Kiba had apparently been told by his mother, Tsume, to extend an invitation to Kai to come by and, "promote clan unity," or something like that. Kai knew that it was more of the political maneuvering that the council was involved in, which made sense because Tsume was the Inuzuka clan head, or, "Head Bitch," as she seemed fond of saying.

At first, he didn't know what to think of the whole thing though. As much as he didn't want to get involved with clan politics, he knew that if the Wareta Clan became an official clan of Konoha, that the clan head would hold a seat on the council, and since he was technically the heir (or even the Clan Head if his mother decided not to come to Konoha) he would have to be versed in the political comings and goings of Konoha.

That was the source of his unease before he arrived: he knew that this could be nothing more than an attempt to gain political friends and favors. But when he met Tsume personally and the first thing she did was congratulate him on his spectacular acting in the council chamber and thank him for one of the most entertaining council sessions she had ever been a part of, he found that even if there was a political undertone behind the invitation, Tsume was genuinely interested in meeting him. Even though she was a Clan head and a powerful figure, both politically and physically, she was a nice enough person.

Tsume joined the three Chunin for lunch, but wasn't able to stay too long. After they had finished the meal, she said she had to leave to, "Deal with clan business. You'll figure out what I mean," before swiftly walking out of the house and disappearing into the maze of buildings that made up the compound.

Kai was confused, but took her word for it and focused on enjoying the remainder of the time with his friends. Sakura then decided to try and weasel out details about his time away from Konoha, and apparently decided to start it off by softening him up with compliments on his fight with Kiba.

"Oh come on Sakura, it wasn't that great," Kai said, blushing despite himself, he just wasn't used to being complimented on his fighting. Kyo and Izumi had congratulated him when he got a new move down in training, but when it came to actual battle, they were all business. They just didn't see the point behind congratulating and praising someone for doing their job.

That didn't mean that they didn't celebrate every victory and successful job with a huge meal at a restaurant of Izumi's choice though.

"No Kai," Kiba cut in, "you seriously did a good job. I may not be the strongest Chunin in the village, but I'm no slouch either. To be able to stand up to me like you did is pretty impressive," his eyes narrowed slightly, "even though me and Akamaru would have won in the end."

Kai rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say Kiba."

Kiba smiled, apparently missing the sarcasm Kai had used, before his eyes caught sight of a clock across the room. Kiba cursed, "Shit! I'm going to be late!"

Sakura suddenly seemed a little nervous, "It's not like it would be a first Kiba; just meet her halfway like you usually do."

"But I wanted to actually be there on time this time," Kiba half growled half whined.

Kai was moderately confused, but then he realized that Sakura had said "she" and the pieces fell into place. "So Kiba," Kai said with a mischievous smirk, "I take it you have a girlfriend now?"

Kiba blushed but nodded, "Yeah, for a few months now…"

Kai smirk turned into a genuine smile, "Well good for you, congratulations. Anyone I might know?"

Kiba was about to speak when he caught Sakura's gaze from her position from behind Kai. She was glaring at him and mouthing, "No."

Although slightly confused, Kiba shook his head, "I don't think so Kai, but I can't really stay to chat now. I've gotta get going. I'll see you later Akamaru!" Kiba's companion barked a response before turning and walking to a corner of the room and plopping down to sleep, completely oblivious to the world as Kiba dashed out the door.

Sakura laughed nervously, "Well… I guess we should leave now since Kiba and Tsume are gone…"

Kai nodded in agreement before he and Sakura began moving the used dishes to the kitchen before placing them in the sink. Their self-appointed chore done, the two Chunin made their way out of Tsume's house and from there out of the Inuzuka compound.

"Well," Kai said, stretching in the early afternoon sunlight, "I think I'm going to head back to my hotel room and take a break. Maybe I'll get some more work in on my sealing…" One of his biggest projects over the three years had been his progress toward Sealmaster Certification. He was still quite a way away from reaching the qualifications, but he knew that he was better with seals than most Shinobi ever got.

The reason he had chosen sealing was because of his regular limitations. He knew his chakra limit would cause him a lot of trouble, but with his usually stealthy style, sealing would be very useful for setting up traps for his opponent. Other than that, the subject just genuinely interested him, and Kyo and Izumi had approved when he had voiced his intentions, even going so far as to get him several books on sealing and buying him new ones whenever they found them.

Sakura wasn't paying attention. She was too busy worrying about how to break the news of Kiba's girlfriend to Kai. By the time she snapped out of her stupor, Kai was already jumping to a nearby rooftop, shouting over his shoulder, "See ya' later Sakura."

The only thing Sakura could do was wave as he disappeared over the rooftop.

----------

Kai traveled swiftly over the rooftops of Konoha, eagerly looking forward to his sealwork. Then, just as he prepared to jump again, someone walked around the corner in the street below him and caught his eye.

It was Ino. Her platinum blonde hair hung over half of her face in the front while it was pulled into the same ponytail as before that now reached halfway down her back. Her outfit was essentially the same as before he left, except she had removed the bandages she used to wear under her clothes. Her purple top covered her nicely developed breasts before it cut off a few inches below them, showing off her bare stomach, with her purple skirt hanging to mid-thigh. She had fishnet wrapping on her elbows and knees and was wearing plain black ninja sandals.

Kai suddenly found it hard to breathe. He could only gape at Ino who, at that moment, made up the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

But she apparently didn't notice him because she just continued walking down the street in front of him, approaching his position by without a glance in his direction, apparently looking for someone. Then, her eyes brightened and she waved her arms in the air, "Kiba-kun!"

Kai could only watch as Kiba came jogging up to Ino and wrapped her in a hug in the street right in front of him. Then they kissed, and the bottom dropped out of Kai's world.

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AN: PLEASE DON"T KILL ME! This has to happen!

I know some of my readers will be questioning my actions. I just want you all to know that this is still a Kai/Ino fic. I haven't given up on the pairing, I just felt like putting a little taste of reality into the story. Seriously, think about the facts. She hasn't seen him for three years. They weren't even together when he left. They never openly admitted their feelings, which makes them much easier to deny as time passes (personal experience here people). Besides, whoever said that absence makes the heart grow fonder wasn't talking about new relationships, that's for sure.

I'll say it again, Kai and Ino WILL end up together in the end, I already have it planned out, it just won't happen right away. The idea of the sappy kind of 'I've-missed-you-so-much-let's-go-hide-away-somewhere-and-make-out-for-hours-even-though-we-barely-know-the-first-thing-about-each-other-and-then-possibly-have-sex-before-spending-the-night-wrapped-in-each-other's-arms' crap really didn't seem like it would fit here. I have read too many fics like that in the past and, honestly, those moments ruined the entire story for me.

Now that that's been said, on to more irrelevant things…

You know, I never really realized it until I wrote this chapter, but Naruto's shippuden outfit is fairly similar to Kai's outfit…

Jutsu list:

_Kuchiyose: Kanba_: Summoning: Kanba

_Shikyaku no Jutsu_: Four Legs Technique

_Jūjin Bunshin_: Beast Human Clone

_Tsūga_: Piercing Fang

_Karada Bunshin no Jutsu_: Body Clone Technique

_Jinjū Konbi Henge: Sōtōrō_: Man Beast Combination Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf

_Garōga_: Double Wolf Fang

_Tori_: bird

_Taka Konbi Henge: Kaze no Kontan_: Falcon Combination Transformation: Soul of the Wind (Original Jutsu)

Things won't clear up for a few more chapters, so just stick with it… please…

Oh, and please don't forget to review…


	19. Chapter 19

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Chapter 19

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: Here we go again

Response to Reviewers:

Gravenimage: To be completely honest, you called it fairly well. And I'm glad that you liked the way it happened, to be honest I was afraid that you, my most outspoken Ino-fan reviewer, would be upset by the bit of Kiba/Ino. : )

Insufficient: Yeah, I really don't like Kiba/Ino either... I just used it because it worked for my purposes. Hito will be making a comeback before too long, but I really can't saw when. My original prediction of five more chapters may or may not be accurate. It may just end up taking longer, not that that's entirely a bad thing.

Silver Shadowbreeze: I think I caught you off guard with the quick update lol. I'm glad you liked the way I returned him to Konoha, like I said in the AN last chapter, I have been planning that for a long time. Kind of caught you off guard with the Kiba/Ino did I? It had to happen, although I can tell you that I like it even less than you do. As far as Kai's fight with Kiba, I made it like that on purpose. Kai has been killing for three years, and I proved at the beginning of the fight that he could kill Kiba easily, but you have to realize that he has been _killing_ for three years. It would be harder for him to keep himself from killing his opponent just out of habit. And, as I will explain in this chapter, Kai's main skill comes from stealth and silent assassination, not so much with straight out fighting like he had to do in his match with Kiba.

Mr.8king: Yay! A new reviewer! I'm glad you liked the fight scene. As for why Kai fought like he did, check my response to Silver Shadowbreeze... That's my story and I'm sticking to it lol.

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Kai watched as Kiba and Ino parted in the street before him before walking off, holding hands and talking. Before long, they disappeared around the corner and out of sight, but Kai couldn't move.

After a few more minutes, Kai felt a wordless query from Takagoei and shook himself out of his stupor. A moment later, he pushed his thoughts on Ino and Kiba to the back of his mind and continued on his way to his hotel.

When Kai climbed into the window, Takagoei was waiting for him, -_Is everything alright Kai?_-

Kai gave his partner a semi-convincing smile as he walked further into the room and sat on his bed, "Fine Takgoei, I'm just a little worn out is all."

Kai heard the voice of Kanba echoing in his head, -**Don't lie Kai, I saw it all too.**-

Takagoei turned his full piercing gaze onto Kai, "What happened?"

When Kai seemed reluctant to answer, Kanba spoke up again with a sigh, **-He saw Ino… She has a boyfriend… He isn't taking it too well.-**

Takagoei recoiled slightly in surprise. He definitely hadn't been expecting anything like this, -_I…see…_-

Kai sighed, "Guys, I'm fine… Really, you don't need to worry about me."

Takagoei only fixed him with another intense glare while Kanba snorted from within his seal, **-You can't lie to us Kai. We're both tied with you mentally. We know what you're thinking.-**

Slumped and rested his head in his hands, "I…I don't know what I'm feeling anymore… Ino… She was one of my biggest reasons for coming back… I… I don't know what to think…"

Takagoei flapped his way over to land softly on Kai's shoulder. He easily reached his wing out and covered Kai's head making soft, oddly comforting crooning noises, much like what Kai imagined real birds would make for their young. –_The only thing you can do is keep on going Kai,_- Takagoei told him, still holding his wing around him, -_Ino has made her choice for now, but things may change in the future. All you can do is press on and keep working toward your other goals._-

Kai sighed, feeling slightly better, even though he would have preferred a more sympathetic take on his situation, although he was careful to keep that thought away from Takagoei and Kanba. "Thanks guys," he said after a moment, "you're right… I think I'll go ahead and start on my sealing now…"

Takagoei nodded, a motion that still made Kai smile slightly because of how strange it looked when the falcon used a distinctly human gesture, and hopped off his shoulder before flying back to his perch across the room. With another sigh, Kai walked over to the small table in the room and unsealed his sealing books and scrolls, doing his best to focus on his studies.

----------

A few hours later, and Kai finally decided to give it up. He had spent more time daydreaming and moping than actually studying his sealing, which resulted in him not remembering anything he had gone over during the time he actually _was_ studying. All in all, it was a wasted two hours.

Kai sighed as he re-sealed his books and notes before walking to the window, looking out over Konoha as its people slowed down at the end of the day, lazing around in the late afternoon sun.

The Chunin was so preoccupied, he didn't hear the door to his room open nor did he notice the presence of someone else in the room until a heavy hand rested onto his shoulder. He whipped around quickly, only to see the sympathetic face of Kyo.

Kai sighed again, "So, who told you?"

Kyo stepped away and sat on the bed, motioning for Kai to sit next to him, "It was Sakura actually. She said that she tried to tell you before you left the Inuzuka Compound, but you took off too fast. She came and found Izumi and I with Tsunade-sama and told us what happened. I'm sorry Kai, I know how you felt about her."

"Eh… I'll get over it eventually Kyo-sensei," came his half-hearted response.

Kyo closed his eyes in thought for a moment before nodding, "Come on Kai, let's get out of this room."

Kai raised his eyebrows, "Huh? Why?"

The Jonin shook his head, "Just come on, you need to get your mind off of this, and you obviously can't do it on your own." Kyo stood up and grabbed Kai's arm before leading him out of the hotel room and then into the streets of Konoha, obviously not willing to take no for an answer.

They walked for a few minutes before Kai got his sensei to let go of his arm and walked calmly alongside him. "So, where are we going?" Kai asked.

Kyo didn't respond immediately, "We're going to get Ino off your mind, at least for a while."

They both fell silent after that, neither able to find anything else to say until they got to their destination, Training Ground 7. "Sorry if this brings up any bad memories or anything like that," Kyo said, scratching the back of his head with a small smile on his face, "its really one of the only places in the village I know yet, so I didn't know where else to bring you."

Kai laughed lightly, "Well, you could have just asked beforehand you know."

Kyo smiled, glad he was lightening up, even if it was only on the outside, "That would have ruined the surprise, now wouldn't it."

Kyo stopped in the center of the field and turned to Kai again, "Now, the point of this is to get your mind as blank as possible without you killing your emotions like you do as Kagetaka. So, we're going to train until you can't move."

Kai's eyes widened slightly when Kyo drew Goryu, prompting him to draw his own blade. For the next several hours, the two sparred, both with and without their weapons. The only real constant was that they never used any Jutsu and they never stopped moving. After the first few minutes, Kai couldn't think about anything except his opponent, because he knew Kyo would take advantage of any momentary distraction that he may have and punish him for losing his focus. That was just the kind of sensei he was.

By the time they finished, the moon was well overhead and Kai could barely stand. "Alright kid," Kyo said, panting heavily, "let's call it a night." Kai nodded, unable to say anything even if he wanted to, and the two helped each other stumble back to their hotel.

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When Kai finally reached his room, he barely managed to stumble to his bed before collapsing across it. He lay there for a while, fighting off sleep as much as he could as a smile slowly stretched across his face. Kyo had had his best interests at heart, but the heavy training session had only managed to distract him while he was actually moving. Now that he was back in his room, the tortuous thoughts of Ino came spiraling back into his mind, whether he wanted them to or not.

Then, something Kyo had said sparked up from beneath all his depressing thoughts. What if he just numbed his emotions a little. Not enough for him to become completely emotionless like Kagetaka, but just enough where it didn't hurt as much when he thought about Ino.

His small smile growing a little wider, Kai closed his eyes and did just that. Feeling a small bit of blessed numbness wash over his emotionally tormented mind as he finally drifted off to sleep.

From his perch across the room, Takagoei shook his head sadly…

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The next day, Kai woke once again to the sound of a messenger bird tapping on his window. He rose, cringing slightly as his back complained about the position he had slept in, and retrieved the message from the bird before sending it on its way.

He unrolled the small scroll and once again read a message from Tsunade:

Kai,

I have managed to arrange your Jonin testing match much sooner than expected. Apparently the individual I chose as your opponent was more than eager to face you.

I understand that you may still be worn out from your match yesterday and the subsequent training session Kyo subjected you to, but I would like to get this underway as soon as possible, if only to avoid the chance that Danzo will find a way around your loophole. The sooner we get this done, the sooner you can start going on missions, thus putting you directly under me instead of being part of the council's jurisdiction.

Report to Training Ground 7 in two hours so we can get your testing underway. As I said, the sooner the better.

Tsunade

Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato

Kai groaned slightly as his body protested again. Kyo had worn him out, but he should be alright after a hot shower and a soldier pill. He did have to smile though, seeing that Tsunade had given him two hours this time since he was nearly late when he only had one to prepare.

With this in mind, Kai took a little more time in the shower, letting the hot water relax his sore muscles. He had actually intended to hit a local hot spring, but this would have to do for now. Before leaving, Kai popped a soldier pill in his mouth and swallowed it, feeling its effects almost immediately as his chakra reserves slowly refilled while he traveled across the rooftops of Konoha.

Takagoei flapped lazily overhead, easily riding the morning breezes to their destination before letting out a mental laugh, -_Kai, you're never going to guess who your opponent is._-

Kai raised an eyebrow, -_Who?_-

Takagoei flapped again to gain a little more height before responding, -_From up here, it looks like Hyuga Neji. It would seem that he was very anxious to get your rematch underway._-

Kai smiled, this was just what he needed: a match with an old rival to help him get his mind of his troubles. Maybe Kyo had had the right idea the night before. He hadn't been able to think of much of anything last night when he and Kyo were sparring, so constantly training would probably be the best thing he could do to keep his mind off of things… Well, at least until he could start doing missions again…

Before he could dwell any further on his future plans, Kai was startled by a blur shooting across his path. Relying on reflexes honed by three years as a mercenary assassin, Kai quickly dove to the side and drew Reimeiken, bringing it around in front of himself, pointing it toward the two people who were now facing him.

It only took him a second more to see that it was Kiba and Ino.

The Inuzuka seemed slightly confused for a moment, staring directly at the naked blade before him, until he realized what had happened. "Sorry about that Kai," Kiba said, scratching the back of his head as he gave off an uneasy chuckle, "I guess we weren't paying attention to where we were going."

From the streets below, Kai heard Akamaru bark, seemingly in agreement with his master's statement, but Kai wasn't paying attention to either of them. His eyes were focused on the platinum blonde Kunoichi standing next to Kiba, and she seemed just as surprised to see him as he was to see her.

Before Kai could say anything though, he received a mental nudge from Takagoei, and shook himself out of his stupor, sheathing Reimeiken to cover up the recovery as he painted a wide smile on his face, "Not a problem Kiba. So, are you two on your way to see my next match?"

"Oh," Ino said, seemingly surprised, "you're the one fighting today?"

Kai fought down a blush and pulled a little more of his emotional numbness up, seeing that his former level wasn't enough to keep his feelings at bay, "Yeah, I'm up against Neji to help decide my rank now that I'm back."

Ino then wheeled on Kiba, "Kai was the one who kicked your ass yesterday, wasn't he?"

Kiba laughed uneasily, looking toward Kai hopefully as his girlfriend prepared her feminine fury against him. Kai rolled his eyes, seriously debating leaving Kiba out to dry, but shook his head slowly, "It wasn't as if I completely annihilated him. The match was fairly close, and if we had kept on going, who knows who would have won in the end."

Ino turned back to Kai, giving him a smile as her hair bounced lightly, forcing Kai to pull up a little more of his mental barrier, "Is that so?" She shot another glance at Kiba before once again smiling at Kai, "Well, at least he had a legitimate reason for forgetting our date yesterday."

Kiba frowned slightly, "Oh, come on Ino-chan. Cut me a little slack will ya?"

Kai mimicked Kiba's frown as Ino turned away from him. Did they not see what he was going through? Kai's emotions were running amok, and it was driving him crazy even from behind his emotional shield. And yet, Kiba and Ino seemed blissfully unaware of his problem at the moment, seeing as they were too busy with their 'fight.'

Finally, Kai gave a heavy sigh, "Look guys, I've got to get going. The Hokage is expecting me fairly soon…" when it seemed as if they hadn't heard him, Kai sighed again and turned away, walking to the edge of the building and preparing to leap away.

Just as he was about just jump, he heard Ino's voice cut through the sudden silence behind him, "Kai… wait a second…"

Kai froze for a moment, schooling his face into another fake smile before turning back, "What's up Ino. I need to get going or Hokage-sama will get mad, and from Naruto's stories, I don't want to get her mad."

Ino gave him a weak smile, apparently uneasy with their current situation. Then, as Kai watched, she reached behind her back and into her weapon pouch before drawing out Kai's old Hitai-ate. "Don't you want this back?" she asked, still holding her hesitant smile as she held out the headband.

Kai felt his eyes widen when he saw what she had. Not only did she still have his Hitai-ate, but she kept it with her. Kai had to struggle to keep his emotions from racing across his face. Concentrating, he brought up nearly half his full Kagetaka guise, almost completely wiping out weaker his emotions and significantly dulling the edge of his stronger ones. "Thank you Ino," he said calmly, unable to keep a tiny waver from cutting into his voice, "I…I don't know what to say… I honestly didn't expect you to still have this…"

Ino frowned slightly, biting the inside of her lip for a moment as she placed the headband into Kai's hand, "Of course I held onto it…" She seemed unable to say anything else.

Apparently able to feel the tension in the air, Kiba stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Ino's shoulder. "Kai," he said not unkindly, "you should probably get going, otherwise you'll be late for your match. We'll catch up in a few, so don't beat Neji too fast."

Kai caught Kiba's understanding smile from behind Ino's back. Somehow, Kai got the feeling that, despite what he had originally thought, Kiba knew exactly what he was going through, and somehow, Kai even though he looked apologetic.

He gave Kiba a small, though genuine, smile, before nodding and lifting his Hitai-ate back into place and tying it off, sighing as the now unfamiliar weight rested once again where it belonged. Without looking back again, Kai turned toward his former destination and leapt away.

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"It's about time you got here Kai," Tsunade called out when Kai finally arrived, "I almost thought I really would have to track you down this time. I had _hoped _that giving you more time would help you out, but it seems that I was wrong…"

Kai bowed to the Hokage, still keeping his emotions at bay as he spoke in an even tone, "My apologies Tsunade-sama, I was held up by some old friends on the way."

When he stood again, the light glinted off his newly returned Hitai-ate and Tsunade's eyes widened in understanding. She made it a point to learn all she could about her Shinobi, especially those who were important to those she held close, like Kai was to Naruto. She knew all about the relationship, or lack thereof, that existed between Kai and Ino, and could guess how he was reacting to it. If his apparent lack of emotion at the moment was anything to go by, she would guess he wasn't taking it well at all.

But worrying about his mental health would have to wait. The sooner they got the issue of Kai's rank settled and finalized, the sooner the council would lose that particular avenue for potential action. She didn't know what they could do, but she could feel in her bones that Danzo was frantically searching for an opportunity.

Tsunade shook her head, breaking herself out of her thoughts and once more regarded the Shinobi before her, "Today Kai, you are going to fight against Hyuga Neji, who has already attained the rank of Jonin, to see how to stand against him. After this match, I believe that I will have enough information to give you your final rank."

Kai bowed once again, "Hai Hokage-sama." Kai turned away from the older woman and looked around the clearing. He was somewhat taken aback to see that there was quite the crowd milling around just behind the treeline. In addition to Naruto, Hinata and the others who had seen his match yesterday who were standing out in the open to watch, it would seem as if the entire off-duty Shinobi population of Konoha had turned out to see him fight his old rival.

"Just like the Chunin Exam, eh Kai?" Neji called out from across the clearing where he stood steadily, clothing shifting slightly in the wind.

Kai felt a sharp edge of nervousness cut at him even through his emotional shield, but nodded, "The crowd, the weather, even the location to an extent," Kai gestured to the vaguely circular shape of the clearing they were in, "it is fairly similar."

Neji's gaze changed from a firm friendliness to a more serious look, one that was reserved for battle, "But the outcome will not be the same this time."

Kai nodded as he took his place across from Neji and shifted to his Taijutsu stance, "I don't think either of us was looking for a draw then Neji, or at least, I wasn't…"

Neji shifted into his Jyuuken stance and activated his Byakugan, staring firmly into Kai's own bloodline enhanced eyes across the field and completely ignoring Kai's comment, "It doesn't much matter at this point; today, we will finally settle this."

Kai nodded again, his own gaze firming, although not because he was sinking fully into Kagetaka-mode. In fact, if he could have avoided the emotional turmoil that boiled just behind the mental wall, he would have done without it altogether. Kai felt that Neji deserved nothing less than Wareta Kai; Kagetaka just wouldn't cut it.

Tsunade, seeing that both Shinobi were ready, stepped forward, "Alright, this match will be just like those from yesterday, except with one stipulation: Kai, I'm going to have to ask that you not have Takagoei participate. I want to see what you can do on your own, because, as helpful as he is, he won't be able to back you up all the time." She waited for Kai's nod before continuing, "Other than that, just don't kill each other."

She looked back and forth between Kai and Neji for a moment, getting nods of agreement from each of them. Kai had no problem with the rule against Takagoei fighting. In fact, he was more used to going without him in battle than fighting with him. On most of his assassin runs, the white falcon wasn't too much help, mostly because his color made him stick out like a Zanbatou in a box of kunai, but also because he could barely fly at night, which was when most of Kai jobs were done. In all honesty, he had only fought alongside Takagoei a few dozen times over the last three years, mostly when a group of bandits decided to try and rob the 'easy' target presented by three 'helpless' travelers.

Takagoei himself was all for the rule as well, but that was mostly because he was woken earlier than he liked by the Hokage's messenger bird and wanted to catch up on his sleep.

A calm breeze blew through the clearing as the two Shinobi stared each other down, waiting for the signal to begin. Then, Kai caught sight of some movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head a fraction of an inch to see Kiba and Ino making their way out of the cover of the trees so they could see the fight. At the same time, Tsunade shouted for the match to begin.

With his attention split, even as marginally as it was, Kai nearly didn't have enough time to dodge the furious string of Jyuuken strikes that Neji launched at him, even with his bloodline's warnings, and was forced to fall out of his stance and move backward to avoid having his chakra sealed away from the start.

Neji sneered, "Come now Kai, this can't be all you can do? What happened to the powerful Shinobi we saw yesterday? Or was that all Takagoei's doing?"

If Kai hadn't been keeping his emotional reactions under strict control, he would have face faulted. First Sasuke tells a joke, and now Neji is trying to goad him into a rage… And he hadn't said anything about fate yet either!

Kai quickly brought himself back to the fight. He couldn't afford to let his mind wander, especially not now of all times. With a small smirk, Kai changed his tactics. He would wait just a fraction of a second longer before dodging each hit, preventing him from getting fully out of the way, but also putting Neji's aim off slightly, which prevented him from closing the Tenketsu points. This also had the additional effect of leaving the Jonin's guard open; a condition that Kai sought to take advantage of.

After a glancing blow to his shoulder, Kai ducked down under Neji's next attack and slammed his palm into the back to Neji's elbow, knocking his arm up higher and leaving room for Kai to drive his own elbow into Neji's stomach. Or at least, that was what he tried to do. As soon as Kai hit Neji's arm, the Jonin smirked and swung his right leg across the ground in front of him, releasing a pulse of chakra as he did so. Before Kai's counterattack could land, he was tossed back by a partial _Kaiten_.

Neji completed the single spin that had been started by his lazily swinging foot and brought his hard gaze back to the downed Chunin before him, "That was a good try Kai, but my **__****Hakkesho Kaiten******** has greatly improved since we last fought. I can now perform the technique literally on a whim, which makes it that much more powerful."**

******Kai nodded as another thought occurred to him, "And that was only on one side wasn't it? The chakra field didn't extend around you, which would help prevent me from taking you down like I did in the exams… That is most impressive Neji, perhaps I should show you one of my new tricks in exchange."**

******Neji continued to glare at him, "If you seriously think your 'tricks' will help you against me now, then by all means, give it your best shot. We are, after all, trying to see how you rank, but," his glare turned into an amused smirk, "I'm afraid that ****__****fate******** has decreed that you cannot win today."**

******Kai was sure that the world was ending now. Neji had just used fate, the one thing he formerly held as a sort of abstract constant in his life, as a joke. He had to get caught up with everyone he used to know so this kind of thing didn't keep catching him off guard.**

******With a small smile, Kai drew Reimeiken and began focusing his chakra. Before he could change it into another form, Izumi's voice cut across the clearing, "KAI-KUN! USE THE KATON REIMEIKEN! PLEEEEEEEEEZE!" Kai glanced over to see her practically dancing in place, excitement flashing through her eyes as she fingered **Katsuya eagerly.

The Chunin sighed and nodded. Izumi would make him pay later if he refused this request now, and besides, she really enjoyed watching him use his scythe, mostly so she could critique his 'less than expert handling of such an excellent weapon.' With a mental push, Kai set his chakra along the burning path that was now very familiar to him and watched as the plain blade in his hands began to glow a bright red. As the weapon changed in his hands, he shifted his grip, watching as Neji's eyes widened slightly when the scythe took its form and the bright color dulled again.

Neji's eyes trailed over the six foot long weapon and down to the wickedly glinting edge of the blade, marveling at the strange beauty in the weapon's rather simple design. His eyes were drawn to the large red crystal glowing dully just behind the blade where it was mounted in what looked like silver that then stretched down, leaving streaks and swirls of silver in the dull red-orange color of the shaft and along the back of the blade.

Kai stood steadily for a moment before shifting into a wide stance that Izumi had taught him, holding his newly changed weapon in front of him with the blade near the ground and the dull top nearly touching the grass before it hooked up, pointing back towards the sky.

Neji stood there, seemingly too stunned to move for a moment before he spoke the thought that was on the minds of most of the watchers, "I thought your sword only changed into a bigger sword…"

Kai smiled slightly, proud of catching the stoic Hyuga off guard, "Reimeiken has a different form for each elemental chakra type I have learned to use, which is all five of them, in addition to its regular form as a katana. This is the Katon Reimeiken. The one you saw yesterday was the Doton Reimeiken."

Neji nodded in understanding, but still seemed too stunned to do anything; not that Kai could blame him, it wasn't every day you saw a shape-changing sword after all. Taking advantage of his opponent's situation, Kai turned his head back to Izumi, "How far should I go Izumi-sensei?"

Izumi brought her hand to her mouth and pouted in thought, her tail twitching slightly behind her, before turning to Tsunade and asking her something. The Hokage seemed slightly surprised, but said something back to her former student. Izumi spun back around with a huge smile on her face, "I've got you covered Kai-kun." With that rather cryptic statement, Izumi sank down to the ground and took up a meditative position, laying her scythe across her knees, though she still kept her eyes open so she could watch the fight.

Kai turned back to Neji, who seemed to have nearly recovered at this point, "Neji, throughout the fight, Izumi will be emitting small bursts of chakra. They are for the protection of those watching our match, so you shouldn't react to them as an attack. I promise you that she will not be interfering."

Neji nodded firmly before sinking once more into his stance, apparently over the novelty of Kai's weapon for the moment and ignoring the confusing statement that he had just made. Without another thought, the Jonin leapt forward, closing the relatively short distance between the two in a matter of moments, hoping to get inside the minimum range of Kai's weapon before he could attack.

But Kai was used to these kinds of tactics, mostly because many of the bandits and Shinobi he and Izumi had fought over the years had a similar train of thought, usually right before they found themselves coming down with a serious case of death through decapitation. However, since this was a spar and he couldn't kill Neji, he went for the next best thing.

Just as Neji came into range, Kai flipped the blade around so that the sharp edge was facing the ground and jabbed it forward, planting the back of the blade under Neji's chin and down his chest, stopping him flat in his tracks. With another shove, he sent Neji stumbling back before stepping up himself and bringing around the bottom end of the shaft, sweeping the legs out from underneath a stunned Neji. Then, while the Jonin was still airborne, Kai once again brought around the back of the weapon and slammed it into his stomach, driving him back to the earth where he landed with a loud thump.

"DAMN RIGHT!" Izumi shouted from her seat, excitement still dancing in her eyes, "I TAUGHT HIM THAT!"

Kai couldn't fight back the small smile that grew on his face at Izumi's shout. She was so immature sometimes, but that was why she balanced the normally stoic Kyo so well, not to mention bringing him out of more than a few depressed moments he had had.

Looking down at Neji, Kai gave him a small smile, "You're done Neji. If I had actually fought against you to kill, you would have this blade in your stomach now instead of on it."

Neji's eyes opened and he smirked before he was engulfed in a cloud of smoke that quickly cleared to reveal a log with a small crack where the scythe was now resting. "I hope you didn't actually think it would be that easy to beat a Jonin Kai," Neji's voice came from all around him, "because this match is far from over."

Kai smiled and began increasing the flow of his chakra into his scythe, "Of course not Neji; that would be too simple. But you shouldn't underestimate me either."

Neji's dry chuckle echoed across the clearing and Kai began trying to find the source, "I wouldn't dream of it Kai. I did so in the Chunin Exams and nearly lost. I am not so foolish as to think that I am the only one who has improved upon my techniques."

Kai smiled when he finally located Neji, hiding just under the ground about fifteen feet behind him. The Jonin was using his chakra to send his voice all around the clearing, much like Zabuza had taught Kai to do all those years ago while using _Kirigakure no Jutsu_. It was because of this training that Kai was able to find him, and he would be willing to bet that Neji didn't realize that the Chunin knew how to find where he was hiding.

"So," Neji continued after a moment, "are you going to do anything, or just stand there?" Kai was once again surprised by the taunt that had nothing whatsoever to do with fate, but was able to prevent actually showing it. Slowly but surely, he was adjusting to this new Neji.

Kai bowed his head slightly, "Very well Neji, if you wish for me to make the first move, I would be happy to oblige you." Kai once more increased the flow of chakra to his blade, this time giving it enough to make the crystal once again begin to glow a bright red. After a moment more, the glow seemed to spread out along the weapon, following the path of silver etched across the shaft and back of the blade, changing it to a deep, glowing red. Then, once all the silver had changed, the blade itself suddenly lit up a bright, cherry red and Kai's image became distorted by waves of heat emanating from it.

"I hope you're ready Neji," Kai said with his head bowed down, "because here comes the fire!" Kai jerked his head up again, revealing the small fireballs flickering brightly in his eyes where his bloodline had once been and slightly surprising those who didn't know that that was what his eyes normally looked like.

----------

Tsunade turned to Kyo, "Why did he deactivate his bloodline? I would have thought that he would have wanted to use every advantage he could against Neji."

Kyo nodded," He does, which is why he turned it off. Not only does he need all the chakra he can get to use Reimeiken like this, his bloodline somehow cuts off part of Kanba's influence on him that helps him use this form of Reimeiken. If you want to, you could say he had two Dojutsu he switches between: the Miraigan, and Kanba's power, which is basically just a resistance to fire along with a little extra control to go along with what Reimeiken gives him already. If he were to summon Kanba now, they could literally incinerate everyone in this clearing, but both would be exhausted afterward. It's just one of the benefits of having a fire demon sealed within you I guess…"

Tsunade nodded slowly after a moment, "So if he used his bloodline, he would end up being hurt by this form of his weapon?"

Kyo nodded again, "Exactly, it was a lesson we learned the hard way when he first unlocked his fire manipulation ability. Kai was laid up for weeks while he healed. Not fun for any of us."

"I can imagine," Tsunade responded before turning back to Kai, who now had small wisps of flame dancing around him, apparently sparking off the blade of his scythe, which he now held before him as he slowly turned in place.

----------

Once Kai was facing Neji, he brought his weapon up over his head, "Get ready Neji!" With a small grunt of effort, Kai brought the scythe down in an overhead swing, sending the blade straight into the ground and releasing a pulse of chakra when it hit. As soon as it did, he jerked it back up, ignoring the trail of fire shooting straight for the Jonin's hiding spot that had come from the blade, and swung it in an arc before him before reversing the stroke and bringing it back around to a ready stance, sending two more crescent shaped trails of fire flying through the air, aimed at the space above where the Jonin was hiding.

Neji watched as the fire shot toward him, once again slightly astounded at what Kai had done, before shaking himself out of it and leaping free from his hiding spot just as the fire reached it and exploded, sending the Jonin even further into the air. Then, before he could react, Neji found himself face-to-face with the other two waves of fire that Kai had launched.

Thinking quickly, Neji began to spin in midair, "_Kaiten!_" The twin waves of fire hit Neji's spinning shield and spread around it, encasing Neji in a ball of flame much like in the Chunin Exam years before. The only difference this time was that the flames were not constantly being fed, and so the fire died out fairly quickly, allowing Neji to fall back to the ground and land easily on his feet, only slightly singed.

"Well done Kai," Neji complimented, giving his opponent a slight nod, "but I must ask how you knew where I was."

Kai let another small smile stretch across his face, "I was trained by a man named Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist. He taught me to use the same technique you were using to throw your voice. You were just unlucky that I knew how to use that knowledge to find you."

Neji seemed thoughtful for a moment, "I see… Enough of this playing around though. It is time to get serious."

Kai nodded again and shifted his stance so that he held Reimeiken out to his side with the blade hooking forward toward Neji, "Whenever you're ready Neji."

The Jonin nodded before charging forward, low to the ground, hoping to close the short distance between the two before Kai could bring his fire into play again. He hadn't counted on how fast Kai could swing the scythe however. At the last moment, Kai spun his weapon in his hands, whipping up a fireball at the end of the staff and swung it forward, sending it flying at Neji.

He wasn't a Jonin for nothing though, and managed to dodge under it before moving in and striking at Kai with perfectly placed Jyuuken attacks. Just before his strike came into contact though, a small burst of fire shot out, lightly scorching Neji's hand and making him jump back in surprise, which gave Kai the opening to move in on his own attack.

----------

While the two exchanged attacks with fist, blade, and occasionally fire, the crowd watched in awe, never noticing the fireballs that would have struck them had a plume of flame not shot up from the ground and engulfed them, easily stopping the deadly attacks before they hit innocent bystanders.

Each time this happened, Izumi's face would twist in concentration and Kyo would smile. Both the hanyo and Kai were getting some work out of this, which was all to the good as far as he was concerned. Maybe, if she wore herself out, Izumi would be too tired to drag him out shopping later that day.

----------

Neji was beginning to get frustrated. Any time he tried to move in for a strike to one of Kai's Tenketsu, a fireball would shoot out of the same spot, forcing him to pull back or else face getting crippled. Kai wasn't having any more luck hitting him, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.

The Chunin had surprised him with his elemental manipulation abilities, and it had thrown him off a little, but it was clear to Neji that he had improved elsewhere as well. For one thing, Kai was lasting much longer in this battle then Neji had though he would given his limited chakra supply. For another, he was using his scythe, a weapon that was usually limited in its close-range capabilities, surprisingly well given the close-quarters battle the he was engaged in.

Then, Neji got an idea. He waited until Kai's next attack with the butt end of the scythe and, instead of dodging as he had been, he let it hit him, knocking him back a short distance and making Kai's eyes widen in surprise.

Neji smirked as he wrapped one arm around the weapon, "Let's see how you do without your blade. _Kaiten!_" Neji quickly began spinning, ripping Reimeiken from Kai's stunned grasp and blasting the Chunin back as well. The scythe spun through he air, slowly changing back to a katana as it went, and finally stuck into the ground twenty feet away from Neji, who moved to place himself between Kai and his weapon.

Kai groaned slightly as he climbed back to his feet. "Well played Neji," he said when he finally stood again, "but I have other tricks besides Reimeiken." Kai mentally grimaced when he checked his chakra level. He was very low. So low in fact, that it was probably a good thing that Neji disarmed him when he did, otherwise Kai may have used up all his chakra without realizing it and passed out, something that would have been potentially dangerous even in a sparring match.

He quickly ran through his options in his head. His original plan was quickly discarded. He had been planning on using a technique that Hito had first used against him during the invasion that took place during the Chunin Exam Finals. Over the years of using Reimeiken, Kai learned that the blade constantly drew a small percentage of his chakra off and stored it in the crystal. As the level of stored chakra grew, Kai's ability to control the weapon increased at the same rate. At the same time, he could use the chakra in the blade to manipulate it as if it were tied to him with a chakra string; much like Hito had done when Kai tried to take Higureken from him.

The only problem with that was that he needed a certain amount of chakra to reach out to his blade with, a minimum amount that he didn't currently have. Things weren't looking too good, but Kai knew he couldn't just drop out. He had to fight to impress, and he had just enough chakra for one idea that may help him do the job.

Kai smirked at Neji and reactivated his bloodline as he brought his hands together before him, "_Karada Bunshin no Jutsu!_" After a moment of blindingly bright light, two copies of the Chunin were seen standing next to each other, but one of them was holding a bow.

"I've seen this before Kai," Neji taunted as he took a few casual steps forward, "I will admit the bow is an interesting addition, but there is little you can do with it in a Taijutsu battle."

The Kais nodded and spoke in tandem as the one with the bow stepped back and summoned an arrow that he then nocked in place, "That is true Neji, but this is a bit of a new twist on an old favorite. Long ago, my clan was famous for using their _Karada Bunshin_ in just this way. One clone to engage and protect the other who incapacitated or killed the opponent with ranged attacks. I will admit that I am not fully proficient in it yet, nor do I have enough chakra left to keep it up long, but I think you will find that _we_ are still more than a challenge, even without Reimeiken."

With that, the unarmed Kai charged, drawing out a kunai as he approached and feinting to his left before moving in with a strike to the right. Neji saw through his bluff though and avoided the attack before countering with a Jyuuken strike to Kai's left shoulder that left it numb and useless.

Kai growled in frustration and switched the kunai into a backwards grip before slashing up, releasing the kunai when he reached the peak of his swing before jumping back and flexing his hand slightly. There was a barely noticeable cloud of smoke before three shuriken appeared in his open palm with a glowing red seal tattooed on the skin beneath them. The Chunin quickly flung the shuriken before once again summoning more from the storage seal on his other hand and sending them toward Neji as well.

Neji was easily able to dodge the projectiles, but was once again caught off guard by Kai's method. He was so astounded, he was nearly hit when Kai suddenly leapt forward with his good arm drawn back for a punch that quickly turned into a catch as his Kunai fell back down into reach before he swiped at the Jonin with it.

The Hyuga prodigy stepped back, once again avoiding Kai's kunai, and threw another strike in, this time aiming for Kai's other shoulder. This time, however, he was forced to pull his hand back or else risk losing a few fingers to the arrow that shot past them before being engulfed in more of Izumi's fire to prevent it from hitting any innocent bystanders. It would seem as if the second clone protected the first from Neji's attack with his bow by using the Miraigan to predict Neji's path, although he was sure that if this had been an actual fight, and if he had been an actual enemy, that shot would not have been aimed at his hand. Neji somehow got the feeling that he would have had an arrow between his eyes before he had a chance to react.

The sparring match continued along this vein for several more minutes. Kai and Neji would close in on each other for a few seconds before Neji was forced to leap back to avoid being skewered by another arrow that would then be stopped by Izumi. Neji was once again growing frustrated when he remembered something from the day before, specifically what had happened when Kai had used his _Karada Bunshin_ against Kiba.

With a smile, Neji ducked under another kunai swipe and maneuvered himself to keep his current opponent between himself and the archer before he started pushing the offensive again. This time, he wasn't aiming to close any Tenketsu, although that wouldn't be obvious to anyone not trained to use the Jyuuken themselves. This time, Neji was just pushing Kai back, step by step, toward his clone.

When they got within ten feet of his clone, Kai realized what Neji was doing, but in his exhausted state, there was nothing he could do to stop him. He felt the warning his bloodline gave him, but was unable to move in time to dodge the strong kick that sent him flying back into his _Karada Bunshin_, smashing the two together and forcing them to combine once more in a bright flash of light.

"Nice one Neji," Kai said over the cheers of the now very large crowd, "I should have known you would figure out the weakness behind my Jutsu before too long."

Neji nodded his head, "Thank you for the compliment Kai, but I feel I must insist that you give up now. You are in no condition to fight any longer."

Kai shook his head, fighting his way back to his feet, "I can't just give up Neji, that wouldn't look good. It's obvious to me that you are stronger than I am now, but then, that's why you're a Jonin. My real skill lies in stealth and assassination, not straight out combat, although with enough chakra, I feel that I've proven I can hold my own in that arena as well. I have just enough chakra for one last move, and then it's all yours. Let's see you keep up with this." Kai formed a quick chain of seals and let out nearly all of the rest of his chakra, keeping only enough to stay conscious, but he knew it did its job when he felt his weights let up, allowing him to stand straight once more, making Neji widen his eyes.

Before the Jonin could speak, Kai ran forward at more than twice his previous speed. He was nowhere near Lee or Gai's speed, but Kai was easily putting most Shinobi to shame. Unfortunately for him, Neji was the student of Maito Gai and the teammate of Rock Lee; he knew firsthand how to follow and keep up with high-speed opponents.

When Kai closed for a high-speed punch, Neji merely lifted his hand and caught it with a sound smack of flesh on flesh. With a smirk, Neji looked into Kai's eyes and was slightly surprised to find a small amount of humor in them. Neji sighed before his eyes firmed, "You are within the range of my divination…"

----------

By the time Hinata and Neji had unsealed Kai's Tenketsu again the Chunin had regained enough strength to move. He walked slowly over toward Tsunade, hiding his disappointment at his loss behind his emotional barrier, and bowed.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and clapped a hand down on Kai's shoulder, nearly making the weakened Chunin's legs buckle, "You did a good job today Kai, and I think I saw enough to reach a decision on your rank," she paused.

Kai noticed in the back of his mind that the crowd that had been watching the match had mostly dispersed with the end of the fight other than his friends who had all drawn closer to form a semi-circle behind him, but he paid them no mind. He was too busy trying to keep himself from screaming at Tsunade to stop building dramatic tension and just tell him already!

Finally, Tsunade spoke again, "Yes you did very well today, but not quite well enough to warrant a Jonin rank…" Kai felt his heart drop slightly. He hadn't really expected to get promoted to Jonin, but it would have been pretty cool… plus it would be one more thing to tease Naruto about.

But Tsunade wasn't done, "I felt that, even if your skills are on par with a Jonin," she nodded at the slightly winded Neji, "your chakra limitations make you an unsuited candidate for the position yourself. However, something was brought to my attention during that fight that brought up an interesting alternative. It is, as you said, a fact that you are not best suited for straight out battle. Your strengths lie elsewhere, and so I have made the decision that you will be promoted to the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin with joint specializations in Stealth and Assassination based off of your performance over the last three years with Izumi and Kyo as Kagetaka, but there is one stipulation that I will have to insist upon."

Kai waited for her to continue, but when she didn't, he spoke up, "I am willing to do whatever it is you need me to Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade's face firmed slightly before she nodded, "I only hesitate because I will be asking you to, essentially, discard part of your life. If you are to accept this position, you will have to leave your identity as Kagetaka behind you. The name is fairly well known, and I doubt you would like to have some of the enemies you made as Kagetaka connect him to Konoha and then to you. I know that I don't want to have angry individuals pounding on my door and demanding that I hand you over to them for the deaths you brought about during your missions. You may still be called upon to perform assassination missions, and I have no qualms about how you do it, but, if you accept this promotion, you must do them as Wareta Kai, not Kagetaka. Is that understood?"

Kai didn't have to think about it for too long before he nodded. He wouldn't complain about not being able to use his alter-ego's name any more. He had honestly planned on leaving hit behind him anyway, so it wasn't really as much to give up as Tsunade seemed to think, "I would be happy to accept the promotion Tsunade-sama." Kai gave the Hokage a formal bow before straightening up when she placed a hand on his shoulder again, more gently this time.

Tsunade smiled before turning him around and announcing to the nine individuals standing there, "I give you Tokubetsu Jonin Wareta Kai of Konohagakure no Sato!"

The cheer that they let out set birds flying from the trees.

---------

"Awesome Onii-san!" Naruto shouted once Tsunade had left with Shizune, presumably to get to work on her paperwork that had accumulated, but those who knew her better knew that she was just going to get drunk and pass out on her desk.

"That was very impressive Kai-kun," Hinata said softly, blushing lightly at Naruto's over-exuberant attitude, "I never thought that anyone could stand up to Neji like you did."

Kai scratched the back of his head, "I didn't do _that_ well guys…"

"Just shut up and accept the praise Kai," Izumi scolded lightheartedly, "it doesn't happen often enough that you can just brush it off like that. Take it in while you still can, because I can assure you that you will be feeling each and every mistake you made in that fight the next time we meet for training."

Kai groaned softly, making Kyo chuckle, "Eh, you'll survive Kai, you always do… Anyway, we need to get going," Kyo stopped and sighed, "I have to take Izumi-chan shopping…"

The newly promoted Tokubetsu Jonin smiled at his two friends, "Well, have fun you two." He chose to ignore Kyo's light glare when Kai didn't give him a potential way out of the dreaded shopping trip.

"Thanks Kai-kun!" Izumi waved before jumping into Kyo's arms, "Carry me Kyo-kun! I am fatigued from all my hard work during Kai's match." Kyo rolled his eyes as he started off toward the market district of Konoha.

Kai watched them leave and felt a small smile stretch across his face. Even when he was deadening his emotions as much as he was, Kyo and Izumi could still manage to make him smile.

Then a hand landed on his shoulder and Kai felt his smile fade when he turned and saw Kiba standing behind him. "Uh," Kiba looked slightly uneasy before shooting a glance to Squad 7, Ino, Hinata, and Neji who were standing off to one side, talking easily with each other while Akamaru got his head scratched by Sakura, "Kai, do you think we could talk… in private…?"

Kai sighed; he didn't like where this was going, but he knew that this was one conversation that had to happen sooner or later. "Alright Kiba," he said with a nod, "let's go."

The two Shinobi turned away from the crowd and walked into the trees, not noticing the eyes of a certain platinum blonde following them out of sight.

----------

Kiba lead the way a few dozen yards into the trees before he turned to Kai with an uncomfortable look on his face, "Kai, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Kai forced his emotions back behind his mental barrier and strengthened it even further, "I don't know what you mean Kiba."

The Chunin sighed, clearly not happy with the way this was going, "I'm sorry about Ino… I had actually forgotten about the crush you used to have on her… At least until we met up earlier today… I just thought I should let you know that I know what you're going through, even if I haven't exactly been on this side before…"

Kai didn't say anything, not trusting his voice even through all the emotional numbness. When he still didn't speak, Kiba continued, "You see, when Naruto and Hinata got together, I was left in a limbo of sorts. I had a crush on Hinata back in our Genin days, probably just as big as the one you had on Ino, but she never saw me. When she and Naruto got together, I turned into an emotional wreck, until one day Ino and I ran into each other. Turns out she was in a similar situation after you left. She really did like you Kai, and when you had to leave, she was just as lost as I had been."

Kai was certain of it now; he _really_ didn't like where this conversation was going, but found himself unable to voice his thoughts. Somewhere deep down, he really wanted to know what had happened after he left.

Kiba continued on, unaware of his audience's mental anguish, "After that day, we struck up a friendship. We weren't dating by any definition, in fact, I even tried going out with a few other girls for a while, but we were still fairly close because of our similar situations. Then, about a month ago, we heard a civilian comment on how 'cute of a couple we were' and ended up going out on a date. It just progressed from there…" Kiba seemed to get even more uneasy, if that was at all possible, "I just wanted to tell you that Kai. We aren't doing this to hurt you or anything…"

Kai lifted his hand, stopping Kiba before he said anything else, "I never thought that you were Kiba…" he felt his sadness begin to work its way through his mental barrier and strengthened it still further, cutting off all but the smallest trickle of emotion, "I… I won't lie and say it didn't hurt finding you two together, but I really didn't have the right to expect that she would wait for me to come back for three years. We weren't dating before I left, and I know that. You have nothing to fear from me."

Kiba gave Kai a weak smile, but the Assassin wasn't done yet. "However," he said, making Kiba's smile fall away as Kai's nearly emotionless voice dropped down into a darker tone, "If you intentionally hurt her, I _will_ be taking action. Do you understand?"

Kiba swallowed once and nodded.

"Good, then we shouldn't have a problem…" Kai paused for a moment and looked off to the side, "Take care of her Kiba… Please…"

Kiba was slightly shocked to see a single tear fall from Kai's eye before it was viciously swept away, but he chose not to comment on it, knowing that it would just make things even more awkward between the two of them. Kiba let his smile return and clapped his hand onto Kai's shoulder, "I will Kai, and if something happens to me, I will expect the same of you… And just so you know, Ino and I haven't gone any further than kissing… our relationship is still kind of in the early casual stages…"

Kai rolled his eyes and nodded, allowing the tiniest smile to curl the edges of his mouth as the two turned and started back toward the clearing, an uneasy kind of truce between them.

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Ino was worried. Kiba and Kai had gone into the forest several minutes ago and, even though there hadn't been any explosions yet, she was very concerned about what was going on. It didn't take someone with brains like Shikamaru to figure out what they had to be talking about.

She would have been lying if she had said she wasn't happy to see Kai after three years, but his reaction actually upset her a little. His apparent cold indifference when they had met was a far cry from the cheerful Shinobi he had been three years ago.

And then there was how he acted. When he left, he had told her, in no uncertain terms, that he liked her. She had held on to the hope that he would return for a long time, thinking that they could pick up where they had left off and actually have some kind of a relationship, but circumstances had led her to Kiba first. Now that Kai was back, it almost seemed as if he didn't care at all, but at the same time, her experience with reading people and using her family's Jutsu told her that he was in a state of mental turmoil, almost as if he didn't know what to think…

Before she could follow these thoughts any more, Kiba and Kai emerged from the tree line walking side by side. There were no apparent injuries on either of them, which lifted Ino's spirit slightly, and Kiba even appeared to be smiling, which brought a smile to her face as well. Then she looked at Kai and saw his carefully even expression as his eyes swept over the clearing. Did they pause on her for a moment? She couldn't be sure and didn't have a chance to find out as Naruto spotted them shortly afterward.

"Onii-san!" the jinchurriki shouted as he jogged over to Kai before jumping behind him and pushing him toward town, "hurry up and get home and take a nap or something. We're all going out tonight to celebrate your promotion and you can't be tired!"

Kai gave out a weak laugh, "Alright Naruto, calm down. I'm going, I'm going…"

Ino could only watch as Kai walked off, unable to bring herself to say anything to stop him.

Kiba saw her watching him and sighed.

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AN: First and foremost, I feel I need to apologize. As I have stated before, I know next to nothing about Shippuden and how the characters changed beyond their looks. With that in mind, you should understand that most of the characters may end up fighting a lot like when they were younger, if I mention them fighting in detail at all. The only real differences that occur will be things that were influenced by other fan fics I have read.

Alright, now that that's over with… This chapter introduced another thing that has been in planning for a while: Kai relying on his Kagetaka persona to 'hide' and 'block' the emotional pain he experiences. The reason I'm making Kai like this is because of his life so far.

I don't know how reasonable this will sound but the way I picture Kai is as an individual who has been largely devoid of any kind of emotional bonds beyond friendship. He doesn't remember his life before the age of 12, so he doesn't have any real memories of his mother and Yue when they were his only family. He did meet them again, but it wasn't for long enough for the bonds to really set in, and even so, they still wouldn't be as strong as they had been.

Kyo and Izumi are great friends to Kai, but, like I said before, they tend to be all business when they're not being incredibly sappy and fluffy. And that fluffiness would only get Kai thinking about relationships of his own, mainly the crush he had on Ino that only grew over the time he was away.

Kai was left in the unique position of being away from anyone 'available' and his own age for a long period of time. That coupled with his position as the rarely seen assassin of the group, not to mention his potentially unnerving eyes, kept him from forming any bonds with others his own age. Because of this, he would think of the only girl to catch his eye more and more.

Ino, however, was not alone. She was still in the village, and even with her crush, she would have pressure from others. She would meet befriend and lose many other people during the three years, which eventually led to her turning her friendship with Kiba into a relationship, even if it was a very casual one.

Hang on I lost my train of thought…. Ok got it back ^_\\

So, when Kai returned to Konoha and saw Kiba and Ino together, kissing none the less, it hurt him deeply. He had used Ino as one of his biggest drives to keep on going while he was gone, and seeing that formerly solid foundation suddenly get moved out of his reach was a huge blow.

He was suffering emotional pain and the random comment by Kyo only gave him the idea of how to avoid it, which he grabbed at the first chance he could. It was only a temporary fix though, and so he had to reach in deeper each time.

Basically, what I'm saying is that Kai acts strong, but I'm trying to make him human. I don't want this to turn into a super-OC fic, so I gave Kai this huge hole in his defenses in the form of his relationships (or lack thereof) with others, particularly Ino.

If this still makes no sense whatsoever, please let me know in a review and I will do my best to clarify. ^_\\

And now that that rant is over, I'm afraid I have some bad news. I think its fairly obvious that I won't be finishing this fic by the end of May… Sorry… I could give you a bunch of excuses, but instead I'll just leave you with that bit of information and a promise that I will try to work on it as much as possible this summer, but you shouldn't hold your breath. It is possible that I'll be able to update fairly regularly and manage to finish it by the end of the summer, and it is also possible that I won't update more than once or twice all summer and end up working on it when I go back to school this fall… I really don't know. The only reason I was able to get this chapter out when I did is because I have known my boss at this job for several years and she doesn't mind me using my lunch hour to write as long as I get my work done. Just know that I WILL NOT give up on this story or the entire series of fics I have planned out for Kai (that's right, more than one more coming along in the future all following the same storyline) : )

Jutsu List:

**__****Hakkesho Kaiten********: Eight Trigram Palms Heavenly Spin**

_Kirigakure no Jutsu_: Hidden Mist Jutsu

_Karada Bunshin no Jutsu_: Body Clone Technique (Original Jutsu)

Please don't forget to review =_= (Naruto)


	20. Chapter 20

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Chapter 20

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: Well… I really don't know what to say… My last post was in May… before my summer job even started and I haven't managed to get any writing done since then other than some vague outlines of a few chapters… I'm writing this (the AN) in my room at about 5:00pm on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 after spending the earlier part of the day re-reading everything I have written in this fic so far so I can get some idea of where I was going again… Yeah… well, enough of this rambling. I hope I haven't lost all of my reviewers in the 6 months + since I last posted, but I would definitely understand if I had… sigh… anyway, here we go again, after much waiting and I would hope much anticipation, Chapter 20.

Response to Reviewers:

Insufficient: Hmmm... More Sasuke huh... well, I think he'll be playing a bigger part in some of the next few chapters... or at least some stuff I want to include in this fic before I end it and move on to the next one... hmm..... We'll have to see how this goes... I'm really liking the Tokubetsu Jonin thing, the only probalme is that I have to type it and its quite a bit longer than Chunin lol. As for the relationship stuff... welll... I really don't know what to say about that... It will be adressed, but not too much in the next few chapters... thats all I can really say for sure, and even thats up for change...

Silver Shadowbreeze: I hope you like this chapter too, I put quite a bit of work into it and my wrists are still complaining lol.

Gravenimage: Thanks for the info : ) I don't know how much I'll be sticking to the cannon characters personalities though. I have found that I am coming down with something that I think many fanfiction readers do: I have very little interest in the actual cannon storyline anymore. Even though Shippuden is finally being shown on TV (even if it is on the Disney Channel) I can't seem to get motivated enough to watch it... Oh well, fics tend to be more interesting anyway lol.

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Kai grimaced at yet another shout from Naruto as he took another sip of his drink and looked around the room. He was in a Shinobi-only bar near the Hokage tower that Naruto had brought him to for his 'Welcome Home Celebration' after literally dragging him out of his hotel room a few hours before sunset. It was now nearing midnight.

If Kai was honest with himself, once he got past the fact that practically everyone was trying to force him to drink some sake or other random alcoholic beverages, he was having a fairly good time, which was good seeing as the party was for him.

He idly took the time to glance around the room and had to hold back a laugh as he caught sight of Naruto laughing drunkenly while Hinata giggled a few feet away from him. He was standing near Sasuke, Kiba, and Lee, who was only drinking water for some odd reason, one of whom had apparently said something slightly funny. Only slightly funny because Kai had quickly learned that when Naruto got even the slightest bit drunk, he started laughing hysterically at nearly everything around him and it never took much to set him off again once he had managed to calm down.

He continued looking around and finally came upon Tsunade and Shizune sitting with Jiraiya, Sarutobi, Kyo, and Izumi, all casually sipping drinks while they talked, finally reconnecting after so long apart. Near them were Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma, talking about whatever it was that Jonin talked about all the time.

Off in another corner of the room was Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko, two of the proctors from the Chunin Exams and a pair of Tokubetsu Jonin like himself that, apparently, were never ones to pass up a party of any kind, or at least that's what Naruto had told him when they had arrived and been re-introduced. Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, and Neji had all been there earlier, but had left a few hours before, saying that they all had things to do in the morning and couldn't afford to stay up late.

Kai then found his eyes, nearly out of his own control, drawn to another table where Sakura, Ino, and Tenten were sitting. He sighed lightly to himself before forcing his eyes away and back over to stare at Naruto and his group. He couldn't keep tormenting himself like that. Ino was dating Kiba and that's all there was to it.

He let out another sigh before taking another sip of his drink, which was some kind of fruit juice that Sakura had recommended when she learned that Kai was not planning on having any alcohol that night. She was actually the only one who didn't freak out when he had told them that after the fourth time Naruto tried to order him some sake.

Kai just didn't like the thought of alcohol. He had seen too many drunken people in his time with Kyo and Izumi to even think about drinking himself. The particularly upsetting occasions were on missions where the drunken people were his targets and were completely unaware of his presence in their drunken stupor until his blade put them out of their misery.

That thought brought him around to another one. Izumi had never, ever, gotten drunk, no matter how much sake she drank. She admitted to having picked up the drinking habit form her former sensei, who she hadn't revealed as Tsunade at the time, and had said that she always managed to irritate her sensei when they would both wake the morning after a drinking binge only for Izumi to be perfectly fine, but for the sensei to be nursing the mother of all hangovers not to mention embarrassment after Izumi described, in perfect detail, her sensei's actions from the previous night when she had been drunk.

He then began to wonder why Naruto was able to get drunk. He knew that while Izumi was far more in touch with her inner demon, Naruto's demon was much stronger, which should allow for him to fight off the affects of the alcohol just as easily…

"The Kyuubi is a bit of a prankster."

Kai was jerked out of his thoughts by the voice of Kakashi, who had come over to stand next to him without Kai even realizing it.

"Huh?" Kai asked, momentarily taking his thoughts back to his younger days when he tended to use the same response in most conversations he was in.

Kakashi smiled, his thoughts along nearly the same lines as Kai's, "I saw you looking between Izumi and Naruto, both of whom are drinking rather heavily, and took a guess as to what you were thinking about. Was I right?"

Kai looked at his former sensei for a moment before giving out a light laugh and nodding, "Actually, you hit it right on the nose."

Kakashi nodded, "I figured as much. The reason behind it is that, while the Kyuubi can easily burn the alcohol out of Naruto's system before it starts of affect him, he is a prankster at heart, which is to be expected from a fox. He lets Naruto get drunk slowly, mostly so he will keep drinking, and then lets the full effects hit him in the morning, giving Naruto a huge hangover, which I would imagine gives the fox quite the laugh."

Kai shook his head slowly with a smile on his face, "I never would have guessed…"

"Of course, if Naruto is in a dangerous situation, Kyuubi prevents all the effects, but when he's here at home and relatively safe, well…" Kakashi gestured to Naruto, who was once again laughing loudly while no one else was.

Kai smiled while looking down, fighting back a laugh of his own. Naruto, the greatest prankster that Konoha had ever seen, was getting pranked himself, and likely didn't even realize it. "How do you know all this Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi gave Kai one of his eye-smiles, "Naruto had a talk with the Kyuubi one morning when he woke up with a hangover. He then proceeded to tell Sakura, Sasuke, and I all of this during our team training. He likely doesn't even realize that, while he doesn't think it's funny, or likely even remembers the conversation come to think of it, the rest of us have to constantly fight back our own laughs when we see him like this.

Kai looked back over and managed to see the barely-there smirk that Sasuke got each time he watched Naruto down another saucer of sake.

Kai chuckled lightly, "I guess it might be a good idea to avoid Naruto tomorrow morning then, huh?"

Kakashi nodded sagely, "That may be a smart choice Kai."

Both Shinobi stood silently for a moment before the elder Jonin spoke up again, "So, how have you come along with the Jutsu I gave you before you left? Naruto told us in his report that you managed to pull off the _Chidori_ when the two of you fought against Sasuke all those years ago, but I would like to hear it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak."

Ignoring the snort of indignation coming from Kanba in his mindscape, Kai smiled, "I got the _Chidori_ down after a few months of practice, but the _Raikiri_ didn't come for another year and a half. I honestly didn't have too much time to work on it for a while after joining up with Kyo and Izumi, and I still can't manage it more than once a day without making myself completely useless, although I did find a bit of a shortcut to make it easier on me."

"Oh?" Kakashi turned to face Kai with his question written in his visible eye, "And what might that be?"

Kai smiled, "because of my lightning based chakra, combined with my high level of chakra control, I can manipulate the technique a bit easier than I would be able to otherwise. With that in mind, I started using it with Reimeiken and formed the Jutsu around the blade in its neutral form when I first started learning to use it. It actually takes a bit less chakra to do it that way since I don't have to focus so much on having it hold its form, and it let me control it easier early on."

Kakashi paused for a moment, lost in thought, before nodding, "That's actually a really good idea Kai," he frowned for a second then, "but I would hope that you can use it properly now…"

Kai waved his hand airily, "Oh yeah, no worries Kakashi-sensei. I told you I had it down, but I've found that there are times that using it through my blade is more effective than otherwise… specifically when I'm facing someone who uses a big sword and needs a bit of a shock every now and then…" Kai trailed off, glaring lightly toward Kyo.

Kakashi followed his gaze and laughed easily, bringing Kai out of his glare and making him laugh along with the one-eyed Jonin. "It's good to have you back Kai, and I am particularly looking forward to having you back in team training before too long."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world sensei," Kai said, smiling as Kakashi waved and made his way back over to the other Jonin sensei.

With Kakashi gone, and since he had broken Kai's former train of rambling thought, Kai once again found his eyes drawn back to Ino's table. It never failed; he just couldn't seem to keep himself from coming back around to her. Not seeing any other choice, Kai sighed again and pushed himself away from the wall and began walking towards the door, hoping to be able to leave before anyone noticed.

He wasn't so lucky however, as the loud voice of Rock Lee cut across the room just as he began reaching for the handle, "KAI-KUN! You are not planning to leave your own youthful part so soon are you?"

Kai mentally groaned, much to the amusement of Kanba and Takagoei, who was monitoring Kai telepathically from back in their hotel room, and turned back while scratching the back of his head, "Sorry Lee, I'm getting kinda tired. Even after resting up for most of the day, I'm still pretty worn out."

Lee paused for a moment before smiling, "I can certainly understand Kai-kun. I too have fought against Neji many times, and my eternal rival is certainly a very strong opponent."

Kai was just about to turn to leave when he heard the sound of a chair scooting back and looked toward the sound to see Tenten, rather unsteady and clearly drunk, struggle to stand, "I think I'm going to have to call it a night too guys." She smiled apologetically to Sakura and Ino before taking a step away from her table and almost instantly tripping, failing to avoid her own chair in her drunken haze.

Lee was instantly by her side and caught her before helping her back to her feet and placing one of her arms over his shoulder, "Then Kai and I shall escort you home Tenten. You are in no condition to make it alone and I will not let my youthful teammate down when she is in need of help!"

Kai sighed again before making his way over to Tenten and Lee, and consequently Sakura and Ino's table. He gave each of the still seated girls a nod and a small smile before turning to Tenten and Lee and throwing the girl's other arm over his shoulder. The three Shinobi slowly made their way out of the bar, being forced to take their time due to the numerous tables in the room, and turned toward Tenten's apartment.

"So," Kai said a few minutes into their walk, "some party huh?"

Lee stood straight and let Tenten's arm fall from his shoulder while she pulled her other one from Kai's, revealing that she wasn't feeling nearly as much of the alcohol that she had drunk as she was letting on. "Kai," She said slowly, "you shouldn't withdraw into yourself you know."

Kai raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about? And aren't you supposed to be drunk?"

"Kai-kun," Lee spoke up, brining Kai's attention over to him, "Tenten and I have both seen what you are doing to yourself, and it is not healthy. Neji did almost the same thing for a long time so we are more than capable of spotting the symptoms in others."

Tenten nodded, "I don't know what it is that is causing you to act like this Kai, but you shouldn't beat yourself up. Things always work out in the end."

Kai quickly realized what they were talking about. Somehow, they had noticed him deadening his emotions. He sighed, "I'm alright guys, there's nothing to worry about…"

Lee and Tenten shared a glance before looking back toward him. Tenten spoke up first, "Alright Kai, it's not really our place to call you out on that, but just remember that if you ever need to talk, we're here for you, alright?"

Kai gave them both a half smile, "alright… thanks."

The two members of Squad 9 gave him a sharp nod before Lee spoke, "Now, I believe that you should be getting to bed." He smiled, "I was serious when I said that I know what it is like to fight against Neji, and you will really be feeling it tomorrow if you are not already."

Kai smiled back and waved to them before turning and easily jumping to the rooftops to head back to his hotel room, leaving the two, now lightly frowning Shinobi behind.

"Tenten," Lee said hesitantly, "you know he still needs help…"

She sighed, "Yeah Lee… But there's nothing we can do until he comes out with it on his own. If we try to help him when he's unwilling to accept it, he'll just push everyone away even more."

The two sighed again before going their separate ways.

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Back in the bar, Sakura and Ino were still talking about whatever came to mind, but all was not well with one of them, and Sakura recognized it.

"Come on Ino-pig," she said with a slight smile, using her old nickname for her as a joke, "what's wrong with you? You've been really withdrawn ever since Tenten left." She paused for a moment before continuing softly, "Or was it because of Kai…?"

Ino looked at Sakura for a moment before sighing and looking down at the table before her, "It's like he doesn't even recognize me anymore Sakura…"

Sakura gave her a sad smile, "He still cares about you Ino, believe me on that."

Her blonde companion looked back up at her, "And how would you know that Sakura?" then, realizing what their conversation has shifted to, quickly looked away and said, "Besides, it's not like I care anyway. I'm dating Kiba now…" She trailed off at the end, confirming Sakura's thoughts without saying anything.

The pink haired Kunoichi sighed, "Ino, Kai still likes you. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at you. The problem comes in who he is and how he found out about you and Kiba. I talked to Izumi-san a bit earlier today while Kai was recovering from his match and, apparently, one of the big motivators Kai had in coming back to Konoha was you. And now, after getting back, he finds out that you're dating someone else…"

"It's not my fault!" Ino nearly snapped, but managed to keep her voice down to avoid alerting the other people in the bar, "it's not like we were together before he left. And he _was_ gone for _three years_."

"And he understands that," Sakura continued once Ino was done, ignoring her friend's outburst, "but what I was going to say was that it's not so much that he found out that you're with Kiba, but _how_ he found out."

"What do you mean?" Ino asked, concern and curiosity written across her face for those who knew how to read her.

"Izumi-san told me that Kai came across you and Kiba meeting up for your date… and he saw you two kissing… it tore him up a little…"

Ino's eyes widened, suddenly realizing what Sakura was getting at. She knew that if he had come across someone she liked, she refused to think of Kai right then, kissing some girl she knew then it would have upset her too. Then, her eyes narrowed, "Well, he certainly doesn't seem too upset by the whole thing…"

Sakura sighed, smiling weakly, "You just don't know what to look for Ino… Kai's hurting, but it's hard to see if you don't know him as well as Izumi and Kyo do."

Ino looked back at Sakura again, "how so?"

Sakura ran her hands through her hair, slowly letting out her breath as she thought over what she wanted to say, "She said that its mostly in his eyes… even with the fire effect going on, you can still read emotion in them… and she said they look… dead almost."

"But he keeps his Miraigan active all the time," Ino protested softly, seeing her argument crumble beneath her, "how can she even tell?"

"It's also in how he acts. I don't know if you noticed it or not, I certainly didn't till I talked with Izumi, "but any time he's around you, he seems to look toward you every once in a while before jerking himself away… I think he's drawn toward you, as cliché as that sounds, but doesn't want to intrude since he knows you're with someone else… That's also probably why he's acting so… short with you. Why he seems to be going out of his way to not have to spend so much time around you…"

"It's because he hates me!" Ino snapped, still too quiet to be heard, "He's just throwing a temper tantrum because I moved on while he wasn't here!"

Sakura gave her another sad smile, "No Ino, it's because he's hurting… Just like you…"

Ino fought back a sob as Sakura hit the nail on the head. She had spent three years trying to forget Kai, and had nearly done so once she got together with Kiba. While he was there, she was able to put her crush on Kai behind her, but then he showed up again, and it all came rushing back. She had only known for sure that he was back since that morning, but everything had returned and she found herself missing him all over again, despite the fact that he was now within her reach, so to speak.

And yet, he wasn't. She was dating Kiba now, and she couldn't just dump him now that her old crush was back in town and seemed to be returning her feelings. Besides, Kai wasn't exactly acting like he was in love with her or anything. No matter what Sakura said, there was no way that someone could like someone like _that_ and act like Kai had been with her: either with a fake smile and falsely happy statements or just a nod.

Sakura sighed when she saw that Ino was rejecting everything she had just said. After being friends with her for years, Sakura could read Ino's emotions just by looking at her face and reading her expressions, whether she said anything or not. "I'm not going to try to force you to see it my way Ino, but you have to realize that Kai is hurting too. It's not your fault of course, but don't count him as one of the heartless jerks just yet. Wait till you learn a little more about him first. If you have the time, I would suggest that you go talk to Izumi-san at the very least. Kai is almost nothing like he was back then, other than the obvious habits he picked up from Naruto and has kept since then, and Izumi is your best bet at learning how he's changed."

With that said, Sakura got up and announced to the room that she was heading home too. Ino watched her leave and caught the half-smile Sakura sent her way just before she left the door. Ino let her gaze sweep over the room until resting on Izumi. She might have to talk to her, so she could set her mind and heart at ease at the very least.

Across the room, Kiba watched his girlfriend and gave a sad smile, knowing what was happening and understanding that it was just something that had to happen. Good or bad for him, he vowed that he would support her in whatever choice she made.

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Kai knocked on the door to the Hokage's office and immediately received an invitation to enter. He had received yet another messenger bird that morning with another order from Tsunade to report to her office as soon as he could. Although he was slightly irritated at being woken up earlier than he had wanted to be _again_, he complied and made his way to the office as soon as he was presentable.

As he made his way into the office, he noticed that, other than the three _Kage Bunshin_ working on the mountain of paperwork on Tsunade's desk, there were three people lounging on a few of the chairs in the room: Tsunade herself, Jiraiya, and Sarutobi.

With a small smile that worked through Kai's emotional shielding, the Tokubetsu Jonin bowed before the three, "Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama, Sarutobi-sensei, how are you all doing this morning?"

Tsunade smiled back, glad that he had noticed that this would be a less than formal meeting, "Fairly well, considering the hangover I have, how about yourself?"

Kai gave Tsunade a Naruto-smile, "Not too bad, all things considered, although Takagoei asked me to relay a message to you. He said, 'Please stop sending those infernal pigeons so early in the morning or they may end up becoming my mid-morning snack.'"

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Tsunade said with a laugh before become a little more serious, "the reason I called you here Kai is so that these two," she pointed to her former teammate and sensei, "can evaluate your progress in the sealing arts."

Kai's eyes widened slightly before nodding, "Of course Tsunade-sama. What would you like to know?"

Sarutobi spoke up first, "Well Kai, I would like to know how far you've gotten in that book I gave you on your birthday all those years ago."

Kai gave the elderly Shinobi a smile before reaching into his hip pouch and pulling out a scroll, before opening it and unsealing the book in question. "I finished it about a year ago Sarutobi-sensei," he reported before offering it to the former Hokage.

Sarutobi smiled before waving his hand, "Keep it Kai, you never know when you may need to get back to basics."

Jiraiya's eyes widened as he looked at the book, "Sensei… isn't that the book you used to teach me?"

Sarutobi nodded, his eyes sparkling as Jiraiya's widened further still, "Yes it is. I felt it was appropriate since I couldn't teach him myself and you dodged out of teaching him by taking on Naruto as your apprentice. I had to give him something to help him along."

Jiraiya's jaw dropped and he struggled to say something for a few moments until Sarutobi and Tsunade both started laughing while Kai looked on rather perplexed. Seeing his confused state, Sarutobi decided to put him at ease, "Kai, Jiraiya had been hoping to have that book when I retired. He has his own copy, but that one in particular has some notes in it that I have made over the years that make it more useful to the average seal-user."

Kai nodded after a moment of thought. He had found the notes in the margins to be very helpful in his studies, sometimes allowing him to understand a particular aspect of sealing when the text itself had been largely unhelpful.

Jiraiya recovered from his momentary pout long enough to scowl at his Sensei before turning back to Kai, "Well then, if you've finished it, then have you managed to create your own seal design?"

Kai's forehead scrunched up in thought for a moment before he spoke, "Well… Yes and no… I'm really not too sure how to describe it actually…"

"What do you mean Kai?" Tsunade asked curiously. While her ability with seals wasn't on the same level as the other two, she still had more than a passing interest in the art.

"Well… It would be easier just to show you," Kai finally said, looking toward the three elder Shinobi.

Once they had all given him a nod, he formed a half seal and was promptly engulfed in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, Kai was still standing there, but his vest and shirt were missing, revealing a bright red seal that slowly faded into a solid black before gradually vanishing entirely, leaving only a large spiral seal on the left side of his chest.

"What exactly was the point of that?" Jiraiya asked, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

Kai smiled before channeling his chakra through his body, causing multiple seals to appear all over his upper body almost simultaneously. Jiraiya jumped up, eager to see what Kai had made and slowly walked around him, carefully examining the work. Once he had finished his circle, he smiled, causing Kai to return the gesture before relaxing and letting his chakra recede, leaving only the spiral once more.

"Most impressive," Jiraiya started, "you've created a system of seals on your body."

Kai nodded, "Yep. Storage seals to be precise. I got the initial idea from a seal I have on my wristband that was made by my family long ago. It holds my bow and all my arrows, but releases them without any noise or smoke. I started trying to copy them, but couldn't manage to make them to where they could hold any one object with a larger mass, like my clothing. That's where my shirt and vest went, by the way, into the seal on the center of my chest. I mostly use them for my Kagetaka disguise; the scarf, greaves, bracers, and gloves; but I have also put the corresponding seals on all my clothing and keep at least one set sealed at all times. It really helps if I have to get ready in a hurry."

"Alright," Sarutobi said, "I have a question then: What about the seals on your palms and the extra seals on your forearms, surely they aren't all for clothing."

Kai shook his head, "The ones on my palms are the closest in design to the one with my bow in that there is no smoke or noise when they are activated and hold Shuriken, nearly a thousand each actually. The extra seals on my forearms hold kunai. I prefer fighting with Shuriken when I have the choice between the two, so I keep them there for easy access, which is also why my gloves don't have any palms in them." Kai formed a half seal, which summoned his right glove onto his hand and opened it to reveal his uncovered palm and the now red glowing seal there. "All I have to do is apply a little chakra, and I can summon as many Shuriken as I want, corresponding to the amount of chakra I use, of course." Kai focused his chakra and demonstrated by summoning and resealing several Shuriken.

"And you have the Kunai for backup, just in case," Jiraiya said slowly. When Kai nodded to him, he continued, "Alright then, what about that one," he pointed to the spiral seal on his shoulder, "that's the only seal I didn't manage to recognize out of all of them."

Kai smiled, "That seal is the only one I didn't have to make myself. It actually comes from Kanba and is what links him to me. We knew from the beginning that I wouldn't be able to use any of Kanba's chakra myself because I didn't grow up with him sealed into me, so we found another way to make use of his excess chakra. The network all ties into his seal, which uses his demonic chakra to power it and keep the seals from collapsing and releasing everything within them all at once if I were to ever run out of chakra myself."

"Ah," Sarutobi said, smiling broadly, "a very eloquent solution to a rather large problem. I had wondered how you were powering this whole thing, and the demonic chakra explains the red colored seals as opposed to the white color exhibited by traditional, unaltered storage seals."

"Thank you Sarutobi-sensei," Kai said with a smile before scratching the back of his head, "it was actually Kanba's idea though, I just made it work and made the _Kage Bunshin_ to apply it."

"Regardless," Tsunade said, speaking up for the first time since the seal talk had begun, "it is an excellent idea and a good use of your resources. What do you think gentlemen," she finished, turning toward Sarutobi and Jiraiya who then turned to each other and began talking in hushed voices.

Kai unsealed his clothes once again, shaking himself slightly to help his outfit settle once more, and looked over at the two men, knowing almost immediately what they were discussing. Sarutobi and Jiraiya were two of the foremost Sealmasters in Konoha, if not all the elemental nations, and the only thing that they could be talking about was Kai's own Sealmaster status.

After a few minutes of talk, the two Shinobi turned back to Kai who was holding his breath in anticipation. Sarutobi gave him a sad smile before speaking, "Kai, while your seal system is very impressive, especially for someone your age, it's not quite enough to have you certified as a Sealmaster."

Kai let out his breath in a sigh of disappointment, but he had honestly expected this. "Oh well," he said with a small smile, "I didn't really think it would."

Jiraiya nodded, but still gave Kai a sympathetic smile, "It's only because you used a series of well-known seals and combined them into a whole that we can't give it to you. The network you created is really a great idea, but doesn't quite meet up with the standards required to be named a Sealmaster."

Kai gave the three Shinobi a half smile, "It's no big deal, I'll just have to work harder now."

Tsunade smiled at the young Shinobi, glad he was still showing enthusiasm, "Good. I'm glad that you feel that way Kai. On a more serious note, I have authorized you for a one month vacation of sorts to reacquaint yourself with Squad 7 in particular and Konoha in general before you will begin missions again. I'm not sure if you know the duties that fall to the Tokubetsu Jonin of Konoha, but you will be put with Squad 7 for the foreseeable future seeing as they are the only team that you are currently known to be able to work with. Once you have proven your ability, you will be called upon to support other teams with your particular skills or even sent on solo missions that require your skills."

Jiraiya waved his hand airily and turned to Kai, "Basically kid, you're now in a support role unless a solo mission comes along that needs someone with your specialty. You backup whatever team your assigned to help, and will probably have a lot of free time between missions unless things get tight, which will give you more time for… other activities," Jiraiya began giggling pervertedly, completely oblivious to the danger he had just put himself in.

Kai nodded seriously, hiding his smile when he saw the frustrated look Tsunade was giving an oblivious Jiraiya from behind him. Sarutobi saw it too and was slowly backing away from the Toad Sage. "Uh… thank you Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama. If there's nothing else, I think I'll go track down my team now…"

Tsunade looked at Kai and saw that he recognized the mood she was currently in; probably because of the time he spent with Izumi who had apparently inherited a majority of her hatred for all things perverted unless Kyo was involved, and waved him off with a smile.

Sarutobi, seeing his chance, spoke up as well, "I had better be off as well… I've… uh… got things to do…"

Jiraiya noticed the uneasy tone in his sensei's voice and turned around to see Tsunade glaring at him menacingly. "Uh… Tsunade-hime… come on… you don't want to hurt me… I was just explaining everything to him in a way that was easier for him to understand is all…"

Kai and Sarutobi made it outside the room just in time to hear a crash as Jiraiya was sent out the window courtesy of Air-Tsunade. The two shared a smile and a laugh as they made their way out of the tower before going their separate ways.

----------

The next month passed quickly for Kai. He spent most of his time training from sunrise to sunset, both with and without his team, in an attempt to keep his thoughts off of Ino and any and all subjects related to her, and he soon found himself on a mission with Squad 7 once more.

Now he was back in his element. Moving through the trees as only a Shinobi could with his full 'Kagetaka' battle gear on and fully separated from his emotions. It was only now that he realized how few of his emotions he had actually been blocking in the last month. Only in the extreme solitude now provided in his mind did he fully understand the depth of his grief.

He forcefully pulled himself out of his stupor when he nearly missed a branch, which would have both sent him to the ground painfully and alerted their target that there was an enemy nearby.

The mission Squad 7 had been sent on was an assassination/retrieval mission requested by the Fire Lord himself. Kai had been quite irritated when he had learned what the actual object of the mission was, specifically the retrieval aspect…

_**Tori, Inu, Tora, Flashback no Jutsu!**_

"We have to WHAT!" Naruto and Kai both screamed at the same moment, causing Tsunade to massage the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Retrieve the Fire Lord's wife's cat, Tora."

Kai's jaw dropped, realizing that he actually hadn't heard her wrong. "And this qualifies as an A Class mission… how exactly?"

Tsunade leveled a light glare onto Kai, only to grumble when she remembered that Izumi had rendered Kai immune to her glares, "Because the cat was kidnapped by a wannabe crime lord, who the Fire Lord also wants taken care of."

Kai immediately calmed down when he heard that, "I apologize Tsunade-sama… I just have a… problem with retrieving cats… You wouldn't believe how many cats there are in the Elemental Nations who pull the same stunt as Tora… on a Daily. Freaking. Basis."

Tsunade nodded to Kai in acknowledgement while Naruto continued to grumble in frustration.

_**Flashback no Jutsu Kai!**_

Retrieving Tora, aka 'That Freaking Cat… Again,' was secondary to assassinating the up and coming crime lord. The man, whose name was unknown, had set himself up in a rather large house that had been converted into a stronghold of sorts. From what the mission report had said, there were always several dozen heavily armed guards ready at all times, not to mention the ones that could be roused at a moment's notice. When you added in the twenty foot high wall and the archers that patrolled the wall and the roof of the building itself along with the possibility of Shinobi, you had quite the mission lined up.

Their plan was fairly simple when you thought about it. They would slip past the sentries on the perimeter of the property, and then Kai and Kakashi, as the two stealthiest team members, would take out the guards on the walls. After that, Kai and Sakura were going to take cover in one of the towers or in a tree that was tall enough to see over the walls, whichever worked best, and Kai would send in several _Kage Bunshin_ to take care of the half-dozen archers on the roof without raising the alarm.

At that point, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi would try to infiltrate the building as quietly as possible and make their way to the target and complete the mission while Kai and Sakura waited as backup. If they were found, then they would simply bust in and fight their way to the target by whatever means necessary while Kai and Sakura played support from the outside, only revealing themselves if needed.

Everything went well at first. They moved in just after sunset and found it to be embarrassingly easy to get past the sentries, and the wall guards and archers fell just as easily. The problem came when they tried to get inside. Just as they were climbing in a window to a darkened room, the light came one revealing a rather large man leading a giggling maid into the room, which happened to be a bedroom. Needless to say, whenever the maid saw the three Shinobi, she screamed, which lead the fat man to bowl her over as he ran out of the room.

Kakashi quickly knocked the girl unconscious and lead Naruto and Sasuke through the building as quickly as possible. A few minutes later though, the alarm went off and all the guards were roused.

"Shit," Kai cursed, making Sakura shudder slightly at the lack of emotion in his voice.

She quickly shook it off and turned to look fully toward Kai, "Should we move in?"

Kai thought a moment before shaking his head, "Kakashi-sensei knows what he's doing. As long as they keep checking in with us every few minutes, we'll stay where we are."

She nodded and waited for a second before they both jumped slightly as Kakashi's voice came across their headsets, "Both of you stay where you are for now. We're alright, just a few Samurai for now, and I don't sense any Shinobi nearby other than us. We'll keep in contact. Let us know if you see anything worth making note of. Over."

Kai reached up and activated his own microphone, "Copy Kakashi-sensei, be careful in there guys. Over."

The next several minutes were stressful to say the least. Or at least they were for Sakura. Kai was used to this position seeing as he was almost always the one on the outside providing ranged support in his missions with Kyo and Izumi, and while he was with them, Zabuza and Haku.

Sakura wasn't handling the stress well. "Kai," she hissed after about ten minutes of waiting pierced by nothing but the alarm and the occasional shout, "how are you staying so calm?"

Kai glanced her way for a fraction of a second before turning back to survey the building and grounds before him, "It's a combination of two things really. One, I'm used to this position from when I worked with Kyo and Izumi. And two, I'm using a technique my mother taught me years ago to deaden my emotions so that I'm more… withdrawn from what's happening. It works quite well for keeping yourself separate from the anxiety in this line of work."

"I can imagine," Sakura said slowly, putting the pieces together to help partially explain his seemingly withdrawn attitude in the past month when compared to how he used to act before he left and how he acted when he first arrived back in Konoha. He was hiding behind this emotional barrier to avoid having to deal with the heartache that Sakura had known was there since he first found out about Ino and Kiba.

She frowned for a moment before filing that away as something to report to Tsunade later. As the team's medic, it was her place to do what she could to diagnose and treat every aspect of the team's health that she could, and that included their mental health.

A few moments later, there was a huge explosion on the far side of the building from where Kai and Sakura were sitting. Moments later, Kakashi's voice came over their headsets once again, "We're alright; just a fire Jutsu that hit a gas tank up here. No injuries. Over."

Kai then noticed a large crowd of people coming from the front gate and heading toward the building at a dead run. "Copy Kakashi-sensei," he said, "there are several dozen people coming from outside the walls heading into the building at a sprint, I believe they're the sentries; orders? Over."

There was a pause as Kakashi mulled this new information over, "Just stay where you are for now and keep us updated. Over."

"Copy Sensei," Kai answered, "Over."

Once again, a tense boredom settled over Sakura as she waited for any more news. Every once in a while, the two Shinobi would catch sight of their three comrades running past windows on their side of the building, or see the flash of a Jutsu being used, but other than that, nothing happened to give them any insight as to what was happening with their teammates.

"So," Kai said after a few more minutes of waiting, "how are things for you and Sasuke?"

Sakura blushed slightly, "So you noticed huh?"

Kai smiled slightly despite his emotional barrier, "How could I not? I would have to be blind to not see how you two are acting around each other, even though you keep it low key."

Sakura smiled as she looked down for a moment, "We started dating shortly after Naruto and Hinata, but don't really broadcast it too much. Even now, Sasuke-kun still gets propositioned on the streets almost daily, but we're happy with where we are right now."

Kai nodded, "That's good, but I'm sure you realize that with all the fangirls that Sasuke had, and probably still has if I don't miss my guess, he would probably get those same propositions even if…" Kai stopped suddenly, prompting Sakura to give him a confused look.

"Kai," she whispered, "what's going on." At that moment, Kai pushed her to the side just before an arrow pierced the air where she had been mere moments before.

He pulled her back to her feet before they jumped back further into the trees where they had been sitting while Kai turned his microphone back on, "Kakashi-sensei, our location has been compromised, no injuries, relocating now. Over."

"Copy Kai. Over," Kakashi replied quietly, signifying a lack of action on their end, which was all to the good as far as Sakura was concerned.

"What happened back there Kai," Sakura asked.

"Miraigan warning," Kai responded simply, "there was an archer on the ground that must have noticed us. We just have to move over to the other side of the compound now."

Sakura nodded and followed Kai as they silently made their way through the treetops. As the voice of experience, not to mention his higher rank, he was technically the superior out of the two of them.

Just as they settled themselves into a comfortable tree, they heard voices coming from the building and looked up just in time to see several people coming from a previously hidden door before quickly starting toward the main gate.

"…just know that they're here for me."

"Well we did warn you not to take that cat sir."

"How was I supposed to know that that woman was so obsessed with her cat?"

"We tried to warn you…"

"Enough of this! Where are the mercenaries I hired? They should have been here by now!"

"The messengers that arrived with the sentries said that they should be here shortly..."

Kai couldn't believe their luck. The target had practically walked out into their hands. Just as he reached up to turn his microphone back on and inform Kakashi, two figures appeared in front of the fast traveling group around their target in a swirl of mist.

"Sorry we're late," the taller figure said in a gruff voice, "got a little hung up on the way here…"

"I don't care for your excuses," the fat crime lord screamed, "just do your job and protect me!"

Just then, an archer came around the building at a dead sprint. "Sir!" he shouted before sliding to a stop and panting to catch his breath, "Sh… Shinobi sir…"

"I know there are Shinobi here you idiot!" the man interrupted, "they're inside the complex looking for me now!"

The archer shook his head before struggling to speak again, "No sir… I mean out here… I took a shot at them just a few minutes ago, but they got away…"

"SHIT!" the target shouted before turning back to the two mercenaries, "Well, it looks like you two get to do your job a little sooner than I thought."

Kai and Sakura watched as the taller merc reached behind his back and pulled a very large, very familiar sword from its harness, "Not a problem boss, we've got it covered."

Kai quickly turned on his headset, "Kakashi-sensei," he whispered urgently, "the target is outside. Repeat, the target is outside the building. There are also two mercenaries that just met up with him, most likely Shinobi. Over."

Kakashi grumbled for a few moments before speaking up, "Copy Kai, we just found the target's office and the secondary objective. If you get a chance, engage the target, but be careful. Over."

"Copy Sensei. Over." Kai shut his headset off once again and looked over to Sakura, "You ready Sakura? We'll probably only get one shot at this before all hell breaks loose…"

Sakura seemed uneasy for a moment before nodding, "Take your shot Kai, then we'll engage if we need to."

Kai nodded with an unseen smile under his mask and summoned his bow and a black feathered arrow. One of the smaller details Tsunade had had him change was his arrows, particularly the fletching. He normally used Takagoei's white feathers for his arrows, but since the white arrows were something of a calling card for Kagetaka, she had had him dye them all black, something which the falcon was of mixed feelings about.

Putting his thoughts aside, Kai drew back on his bow and sighted along the arrow, his Miraigan blazing in his eyes. Then, he got the now familiar feeling of _rightness_ and let his arrow fly before quickly resealing the bow and watching the projectile's progress.

Everything seemed fine until just before the hit. The smaller of the two mercenaries moved suddenly and something bounced off the head of the arrow, sending it off target so it imbedded itself into the crime lord's shoulder instead of his head.

"Damn," Kai cursed softly before turning and nodding to Sakura, both Shinobi ignoring the now wounded man's screams.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?!" he screamed, cradling his injured arm as blood ran freely from his wound.

"Oh, stop being such a baby," the taller shinobi said as he walked up and easily removed the arrow from his employer's shoulder, "Hmmm, it looks like it hit the bone… Not much we can do about it now, we'll have to keep moving and treat it once we're safe."

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" the man screamed once again, "I'M IN SERIOUS PAIN HERE!"

"And so are our ears," Kai mumbled, causing Sakura to giggle lightly before they started moving through the trees once more, coming into a position closer to their target and his guards. Once they got close enough, Kai turned to Sakura again, "Alright, I'll go in first, you follow when you see an opening."

"Gotcha," Sakura said with a nod of her own before moving back further into the trees to watch and wait.

Kai turned on his headset once more, "Kakashi-sensei, I am engaging the target and his guards. Over."

"Copy Kai," Kakashi answered immediately, "we're on our way out now. Be careful. Over."

"Copy. Over," Kai said before turning his headset off and summoning a few Shuriken to each hand while leaping high into the air just as a large cloud passed over the moon, shading the entire area in darkness.

As soon as his jump reached its peak, Kai's eyes widened slightly as he flung his arms out wide, throwing his Shuriken down toward the group crowded below and formed a quick chain of seals, "_Shuriken Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!_"

The two Shinobi looked up in time to see the cloud of death about to rain down upon them and the smaller of the two moved in time to tackle the crime lord out of the way while the taller one leapt to safety himself. The other guards however, weren't as lucky.

Kai landed on one side of the now fallen group of mostly dead guards while the two Shinobi stood across from him with his target, who had apparently been shocked into silence by his guard's quick actions.

Then, as the cloud bank revealed the nearly full moon once again, Kai got his first good look at his opponents. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Kai said, a little exasperation managing to get through his emotional barrier when he saw that his opponents were none other than Momochi Zabuza and Haku.

"Kai?" Haku asked hesitantly, "Is that you?"

Kai smiled despite himself, "Yeah Haku, It's me."

The three Shinobi just stared at each other for a moment as the wind blew through the clearing, the silence only broken by the muffled groans of the few surviving guards between them. "Well," Zabuza finally said with an uneasy laugh, "this is kind of awkward…"

Kai could only nod in agreement. He hadn't seen his former Sensei and partner for three years, and now they came across each other again, once more on opposite sides of the battle lines.

The crime lord failed to see the humor, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TWO DOING? KILL HIM!"

Zabuza shot the man a look before sighing and dropping him to the ground, making him land on his injured shoulder, "You know, he is right Kai. He's our employer, and you are apparently his assassin…"

Kai nodded as he drew Reimeiken, "You are correct as always Zabuza-sensei."

"Before we start this off though Kai," Haku interjected, "could I ask why you are trying to kill him?"

Kai thought for a moment and decided that there was no harm in telling them, and the more time he managed to stall for the longer Kakashi and the others had to get there to back him up. Even with Sakura, he wasn't feeling too confident about this matchup. With a sigh, Kai started talking, "I managed to get back into Konoha without any legal mishaps, and he is actually my first Konoha-approved mission target for two reasons: One, he is giving the Fire Lord a bit of trouble; and Two, he kidnapped the Fire Lord's wife's cat… stupid freaking cat…"

Zabuza nearly facefaulted, "You mean he took the cat that you had to capture over and over in your Genin days?"

Kai nodded solemnly, "Yep, and, in my book, making us have to go after that stupid cat _again_ is more than enough reason for me to go after him even if I wasn't being paid to do it."

Zabuza nodded, a hint of a smile showing through his bandaged face, "I can certainly understand that, but of course you know that we'll have to stop you."

Kai nodded before sinking into his basic Kenjutsu stance, "I wouldn't have it any other way Sensei."

"WOULD YOU MORONS STOP CHATTING AND KILL HIM ALREADY!"

Zabuza sighed before giving his employer a sharp blow to the back of his head, sending him into blissful unconsciousness, "Now that the peanut gallery has been dealt with…" Zabuza disappeared in a burst of speed, suddenly appearing in front of Kai with Kubikiri Houcho swinging down for Kai's head.

Kai just casually raised Reimeiken up and blocked the strike without moving back, causing Zabuza to raise his non-existent eyebrows in wonder, "You've been training quite a bit I see…"

"Three years Zabuza-sensei," Kai said as he easily pushed the Zanbatou back enough to let him land a kick to Zabuza's stomach, sending the Jonin back a few feet, "a lot can happen in that time."

Zabuza's smile only grew, "Well then, let's see you handle this!"

The former Kiri Jonin moved in once again, attacking faster than Kai had ever seen him move before, showing of his own three years of improvement, but, no matter how fast he moved, Kai was able to block his strikes due to his own reflexes and his bloodline warnings.

"You've gotten really good Kai," Zabuza said as his strikes rained down upon his former student, "but you can't honestly expect to keep this up. I helped train you, and I can see that your style hasn't changed too much from back then."

Kai smiled grimly, "If you say so Sensei." Before Zabuza could react, Kai managed to shift him onto the defensive and pushed him back before landing another kick to his midsection and following it with a vicious punch to his face that send the Jonin spinning away, only to land near where he had started from.

Haku covered his mouth to hide his laugh when he saw the astonished look on Zabuza's face, "I think he got you Zabuza-sama."

Zabuza only grumbled, "Well then, let's see what you can do Haku."

"Hai Zabuza-sama," Haku said, still smiling before turning to Kai and letting his smile drop off his face, "I hope you're ready Kai."

Kai merely held up his hand, "One moment please Haku." Kai then focused on the crystal on Reimeiken and pulled his chakra down another elemental path.

As Haku watched, the entire weapon began glowing a light green color before stretching out. He watched in anticipation as the blade began rounding out, apparently losing its edge, as the entire thing stretched to just over five feet long. As the light died down, Kai was left holding a light green colored bow staff with silver caps on each end, with the crystal imbedded into the center of the staff.

Kai shifted his stance, holding the staff in front of him in both hands before spinning it around behind him in one hand and forming a half seal with the other, "_Futon Reimeiken._"

"Hmmm…." Haku looked thoughtful as he stared at his old friend, "it would seem that you have learned much about your blade Kai."

Kai nodded and smiled behind his mask, "I have Haku. Why don't you come and see how much."

Haku returned the smile, "Very well Kai, I won't be holding back."

Haku disappeared much like Zabuza had done, but didn't reappear instantly. Kai stood steadily, his eyes closed, waiting on the warning from his bloodline before reacting. Then, he felt a pinprick tingle at the back of his neck and shifted his staff slightly so the senbon bounced harmlessly off the metal cap. "Come on now Haku," Kai taunted jokingly, "surely you didn't think it would be that easy."

Haku's light laugh came from all around him, "You can't blame me for trying Kai."

Kai shook his head slightly before feeling another warning and spinning his staff around in time to lock up with Haku who was wielding his senbon between the fingers of each hand like claws. Haku stared at Kai for a moment and leapt back before charging his needles with chakra and throwing them toward Kai.

The assassin merely smiled and shifted his grip on his staff so that both hands were at the center. Then, with a twist, his staff broke cleanly into two halves right down the center of the crystal, revealing a bright green glow between them. With a swift pull, Kai took the two halves apart, revealing two bright green blades that grew as they were pulled apart while the rest of the staff shrunk in Kai's hands till he was holding two swords. With a flick, Kai brought his two blades around and cleanly sliced the eight senbon in half, causing them to fall short of hitting him while Haku watched, fighting to keep his jaw from dropping.

"How…?" Haku stuttered, "How did you cut those needles? I infused them with my chakra… It should have been impossible."

Kai smiled behind his mask as he shifted to a sideways stance, holding one blade before him in a reverse grip while the other stayed behind him, "Such is the power of the _Futon Reimeiken_. It gives me two extremely focused _Kaze no Yaiba_, which can easily cut through just about anything."

Zabuza and Haku both stared at Kai for a moment before looking at each other and nodding. Just as they both leapt forward to attack simultaneously, a pink blur came flying down between the three, smashing into the ground and creating a huge crater. The resulting shockwave sent the two mercenaries flying back to land on their backs, which gave Sakura time to free her fist from the results of her insane Tsunade-strength and jump back to stand next to Kai.

"I don't think so you two," she taunted with a smile, "two against one aren't the nicest odds you know."

"And neither is five against two," Kakashi called out from behind Zabuza, who quickly spun around, "although I think we can accept them in this case."

Haku quickly jumped back to Zabuza's side, but the Jonin merely laughed, "Well, this is quite the reunion isn't it? I've got an old student and old opponents all in one place."

Kakashi slowly lifted one hand up to his Hitai-ate, preparing to reveal the Sharingan below, "It's your call Zabuza-san."

Zabuza waved his hand airily while sheathing his blade with the other, "I know when I'm outmatched, and I would like to think that I'm not too stupid. And besides," Zabuza turned back to Kai with a smile, "this moron paid in advance and in full."

Kai smiled as he put his two blades back together, reforming his staff before letting it change back to Reimeiken before he sheathed it, "What a moron…"

"No kidding," Zabuza laughed before turning back to Kakashi, "he's all yours Kakashi-san, we won't cause you any more trouble tonight."

Kakashi, seeing Kai relax, let his hand drop away and gestured for Sasuke and Naruto to ease up as well. Kai finally looked over to Naruto to see that he had been chosen to hold the struggling Tora, who was trying his hardest to scratch Naruto's eyes out.

Kai fought down a laugh of his own and turned to Haku, "Uh… Haku… do you think you could…" He waved toward Naruto and the struggling cat, causing Haku to smile before letting out a pulse of chakra, causing an ice cage to form on the ground in front of Naruto. Seeing this, the Jinchuuriki eagerly threw the cat into the cage and slammed the door shut.

"HA!" she shouted triumphantly, pointing down at the trapped cat, "How do you like that ya stupid creature!"

Kai fought down another laugh as he let his emotional barriers relax back to their former level, watching as Naruto continued to taunt the feline. "Well," Zabuza said, causing Kai to bring his attention back around, "as nice as this has been, I think Haku and I are gonna take off."

Kakashi looked over at Kai before nodding, "Very well Zabuza-san," he gave an eye smile, "take care of yourselves."

Zabuza laughed, "We always do Kakashi-san; we always do." The Kiri Jonin turned back toward Kai and waved before disappearing in a swirl of mist.

"I hope to see you again Kai," Haku said with his own wave, "maybe next time, we won't be on opposite sides." With that, Haku let himself drop backward into an ice mirror that quickly dissolved, leaving no trace that they two had ever been there other than the still unconscious man that had employed them.

"Well…" Kakashi said as he drew out a kunai and walked up to the crime lord, "let's take care of this…" he smoothly drove the blade into the man's chest, ending his life before removing and sealing the head and cleaning his weapon it off on the man's overly-expensive clothing, "…and now we can head home."

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Kai jogged over to retrieve his arrow and then followed the rest of his team out of the compound while Naruto continued to taunt the bane of all Genin existence from outside its cage.

----------

A few days later, Kai once again found himself outside the Hokage's office. Squad 7 had been sent out on another mission shortly after they returned from the last one, but they hadn't needed Kai to come along this time. He found himself with plenty of time to continue his training, but eagerly took the potential opportunity to get another mission when he received the Hokage's summons.

He waited for a moment after knocking until he heard Tsunade invite him into the office. As soon as he opened the door, his eyes fell onto someone he hadn't seen for three years.

"Kaa-san!" Kai shouted as he ran forward and wrapped his mother in a hug that she eagerly returned.

A moment later, Tsunade let out a cough, causing Kai to let his mother go and step back with a blush on his face. Tsunade only smiled when she saw him, "Don't worry about it Kai. As you can see, your mother arrived earlier today and I felt that I should let you know that the Wareta Clan has now officially been made a clan of Konoha."

Kai's eyes widened momentarily before he smiled, "That's great!" He then turned back to Ushina, a question written on his face, "Kaa-san, how did you get here? Did you recover enough to travel or did someone come with you?"

Ushina laughed, "So many questions Kai. Although I guess I can't blame you. To answer you, I have not quite fully recovered yet, which is one reason I came here. I wanted to ask Hokage-sama to see if there was anything she could do to help me. I'm not quite as weak as I was three years ago, but I am now only at the level of a particularly agile civilian, and my stamina still runs out fairly quickly."

"Then who came with you?" Kai asked curiously.

"Well," Ushina began, slightly uneasy for some reason, "Yue wanted to come along… She actually wants to join up as a Konoha Nin, but she can't yet seeing as she's still on her current tour of duty back home. In a few months time, she'll be following us here, but I managed to find someone else to bring me…"

Ushina pointed over Kai's shoulder and he quickly turned, expecting Akira, Hanzo, or some other Shinobi that he had met at their home village all those years ago, but he wasn't expecting who he did see.

"Seiru!" Reimeiken was almost immediately in his hand as he placed himself between his former opponent and his mother, who was strangely calm all things considered.

The man hadn't changed too much in three years other than discarding his brown clothes from his time as a bandit for something closer to what Kai and Ushina wore, which confused the Tokubetsu Jonin to no end.

Kai jumped slightly when he felt his mother's hand rest lightly on his shoulder. "Kai," she said soothingly, "relax. He isn't an enemy."

"What are you talking about Kaa-san," Kai responded evenly, "this guy was working with the bandits that were occupying the village before you showed up. He's the one who gave me the scar on my face."

Ushina's maternal wrath burst forth and she nearly knocked Kai down with the chakra pulse that came with it, "You didn't tell me _that_ Seiru-kun!"

Seiru laughed uneasily as he held his hands out in front of him defensively, "Uh… Heh heh… Sorry Ushina-chan…"

Kai was caught off guard by the way they talked with each other, it was almost as if…

"Kai," Ushina said once she had calmed herself down again, "please, put away your sword, there's something you need to know."

Kai slowly stepped to the side, sheathing Reimeiken, but never taking his eyes off Seiru, "What is it Kaa-san?"

Ushina paused uneasily, "Well… Seiru is… he's… uh… your father…"

----------

AN: Wow… You know, as I was typing this, particularly the bar/party scenes, I found myself thinking, "I'm getting really, really deep/sappy here…" And I'm not exactly sure where it came from either… hmmmm… Oh well!

A lot of fics I've read have pegged Kiba as a senseless moron, who constantly puts his foot in his mouth, but I would like to believe that with a family like his is portrayed, incredibly strict with a firm emphasis on loyalty and a for-the-good-of-the-pack mentality, he would eventually grow up into a reasonable person instead of a woman-obsessed dimwit. As such, I have tried to portray him like that here, and I hope I've succeeded. He can still be hotheaded, but he has a good mind behind all that.

Heh, I also explained Kai's amazing appearing/disappearing clothing in this chapter lol. I still intend on having Kai become a Sealmaster eventually, but not just yet. If things go as planned, which doesn't always happen if this past year is anything to go by, it won't be until Part 4 of the story.

Another random bit of randomness: I kept finding myself wanting to put a : ) at the end of a lot of sentences while typing this chapter… I really have spent too much time texting and chatting online lol.

I now know a little bit of the Shippuden storyline (courtesy of Wikipedia lol) and I want you all to know that I realize that my story has apparently disregarded the Akatsuki. They will have a part in this fic, but there will be a few changes in how and when they appear. You just have to be patient.

In case you forgot, the feeling of _rightness_ talked about when Kai was taking his shot comes from an earlier chapter, the Valley of the End one if I'm not mistaken. Kai has a natural skill with his bow and that instinct helps him know when to take his shots.

And by the way, Kai is not stronger than Zabuza and Haku. He knows how they fight, or at least how they fought, and he had a few surprises that they didn't know about. I see a younger shinobi as having a bit of a learning curve. They get stronger, faster than an older, more experienced Shinobi would in the same amount of time, so they have a greater ability to change, and if someone doesn't see them for a long time, there's no telling how the fight will go. If they had double-teamed him, they would have beaten him… at least if he didn't have backup anyway : )

So, what do you all think about Seiru's part in this story? Be honest now, who actually saw that coming? ^_\\ I only decided to make Seiru's Kai's father a few weeks after I first introduced him. I had originally intended for him to just be the guy who gave Kai his bad-ass scar, but then decided to fill his character out a little more to help fill in a plot hole or two.

Jutsu List:

_**Chidori**_**: **One-Thousand Birds

_**Raikiri**_**: Lightning Blade**

_**Miraigan**_**: Future Eye (For those that don't remember; which I really can't blame you for)**

_**Kage Bunshin**_**: Shadow Clone**

_Shuriken Kage Bunshin No Jutsu_: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique

_Kaze no Yaiba_: Blade of Wind

Alright, now I'm going to do a little Reimeiken recap.

Reimeiken: Dawn Blade

**Raiton: Double Bladed Sword – abilities unknown (for now)**

**Suiton: Windmill Shuriken – telekinetic control of shuriken**

**Doton: Zanbatou – encasing the blade in stone to increase its size and power**

**Katon: Scythe – creating fire from the blade itself to attack and defend**

**Futon: bow staff – twin wind blades**

**All forms other than Raiton give Kai a limited amount of elemental manipulation for the form it is currently in.**

**Ok, now here's the part where I make my excuses. I have been BUSY! My summer job, where I was the supervisor for the first time, took up a lot more time than I thought it would. The only thing I was honestly able to do was make a few vague outlines like I referred to in the opening AN. Then, once that was over, I found myself going to school four days a week and working two days a week with the last day (Sunday) used for homework and catching up on the sleep I lost during the rest of the week before I had to do it all over again…. Not fun… I can't say that things will change too much next semester either, except that I now have all my classes on two days a week instead of four… at least I will if I can get them scheduled right… ugh…**

Alright, I started typing this chapter at 5:00 on the 16th, like I said, and worked on it for about 4 hours (with a few breaks in there for food and stuff) which got me about halfway through the mission. Then I took a break and went to DQ for a little Ice Cream pick-me-up (YAY ICE CREAM! lol). I started up typing again at noon on the 17th, and finished it at 1:35 the same day. Then I read over it again and edited IT ,which took until 3:00, and then I posted it a little over 30 minutes later. Overall, this chapter took 7 hours give or take… Whew!

I hope this super long chapter (20 pages in Word) makes up for my extremely long gap between posting… (Scratches the back of head uneasily) uh… review please… and… uh… yeah…


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

OMG, I am so sorry! I just looked, I mean really LOOKED, at this chapter and realized that the lines I use to seperate the sections of the story and the story from the ANs were removed when I uploaded the file and that there were no lines in the posted chapters either. I'm replacing them before the chapter gets posted and I hope you will all accept my apologies and a promise that I plan to make sure to replace them in all future chapters.

Another note... I just saved the document with the lines... and it deleted them again... ugh... if anyone has any suggestions on how to make dividers for this to help you, the readers, then please leave it in a review... this is just troublesome...

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: Ugh… just ugh… I don't really have anything more to say… I can't possibly apologize enough for another wait of six+ months… I'm really too lazy to try and figure out exactly how much time it's been.

I'll get into more detail about future plans and such at the end of the ending AN, but for now, I am going to try to get this thing going. Just so you know, I've already scrapped ideas for how to start this chapter three times, so I'm basically playing it by ear for now and hoping it turns out well. ^_\\

Response to Reviewers:

**Gravenimage**: So, 6+ months of no posting only gets me 15 minutes of delay before your review hits... I recieved your reveiew to the last chapter 20 minutes after I posted it... creepy lol. I'm glad you like how its going and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations too ^_\\

**Silver Shadowbreeze**: Yeah... If I took the time to catch up on Shippuden, these chapters would take even LONGER to get out. I'm just going to go by what I've picked up from reading other fics and hope for the best...

The fight last chapter was rather forced. I only added Zabuza and Haku on at the end when I realized that I really had no idea for how to end the mission on a higher note. The idea was good, and I was excited when it came to me, but I knew even when I was finished typing it that it really didn't have any substance to it. XP

As far as Seiru goes, I had planned on him being Kai's father when I wrote and posted the chapter, or more specifically, I came up with the idea midway through typing the fight scene between the two. If you look back, you'll see that he makes a few mental comments that suggest he knew what the Miraigan was. Ushina's story says that her boyfriend/husband knew that she was pregnant, so... yeah... you can connect the dots. : )

**Insufficient**: There is absolutely nothing wrong with being the late reviewer lol. And, just for you, there is a nice, solid ending to this chapter, with no cliffs anywhere in sight ^_\\

Back when he met up with Ushina...? I guess I did make it kind of obvious that he was meeting Ushina since I said it was the same village he had fought Kai at... I didn't actually think about that till now... at least not since I posted the chapter anyway lol

Kai is more mature for two reasons, the way I picture it. First off is the rather obvious effect of closing off his emotions (I call it the Vulcan effect as of a few minutes ago (I don't own Star Trek)). Secondly, despite Izumi's... overenthusiastic attitude... Kai was still working as a mercenary with two individuals older and more mature than him, and that alone would cause him to change his attitude. But there is also the fact that he is killing for money without the 'home base' that the Hidden Villages provide for regular Shinobi, allowing them to have a little R&R that Kai and the others couldn't afford since they were in largely unsecure places most of the time.

And, BTW, I know where you can take some truly excellend BS-ing classes, so you too can BS with the pros, like me! (Insert nice guy pose and glinting smile with waves and sunlight in the background)

Your comment about mentioning Seiru in an earlier review led me to checking all your old review and I felt that I should make a comment to an earlier review. If I continue to follow my admittedly vague, and I stress VAGUE, outlines for the rest of the chapters in this fic, Hito should be back next chapter for a nice big battle featuring two other Naruto standby villains not already mentioned in this fic. You may begin guessing now... : )

Alright, enough of that, let's get to the story!

_"Your father…"_

The words kept bouncing around Kai's head.

_"Seiru is… your father…"_

After Ushina had made that announcement, Kai had completely lost track of everything else around him. Apparently, the rest of those present in the Hokage's office had seen fit to let him get through the revelation on his own because they had continued their discussions without attempting to include him in the conversation.

Once they had finished, Ushina lightly shook Kai out of his stupor and told him they were leaving, at which point Kai just nodded and disappeared in a Shunshin, appearing on a rooftop just outside the tower. He easily leapt down to street level and started walking with no particular destination in mind.

Eventually, he found himself standing on the Squad Seven training grounds, right in front of the Memorial Stone, although he only noticed this in a far off corner of his mind. The rest of it was too busy mulling over this new information his mother had given him.

The small portion of his brain that wasn't distracted found it rather odd that this information was causing him so much difficulty. After all, it wasn't as if he had a long list of possibilities for his father and Seiru had just come out of nowhere, so to speak. In fact, he had never even given the identity of his other parent any thought at all.

In the end, it all had to have come down to his first impression of the man. After all, if the first time you meet someone has them on the opposite side of the battlefield from you, you are going to have some rather negative ideas about them. Then to find out that you are linked to them by blood, well, objectively, one could understand the dilemma Kai was facing.

In the late hours of the evening, the detached portion of his mind noticed the arrival of another person in the clearing and managed to get the rest of him to pay attention. Kai turned his head partially so that he caught sight of Kyo out of the corner of his eye.

"Kyo-sensei," he nodded politely before returning his attention to the memorial stone.

"Kai," Kyo nodded back as he stepped up to stand beside his student, studying the names on the stone before bowing his head and saying a quick prayer in honor of all those lost in service to Konoha.

The two stood in silence for a few minutes before the elder Shinobi spoke up once again, "I heard about the news."

"Oh?" Kai responded with a slight tilt of his head.

"Yeah," Kyo nodded, "official clan of Konoha. Nice. That makes you a clan heir now doesn't it? You aren't going to turn into a stuck up prick now are you?"

Kai finally turned to face Kyo with a look on his face that was easily interpreted as disgust, "Kyo, I would certainly hope you know me better than that!"

Kyo nodded solemnly before speaking again, "Then perhaps you could tell me why you are being so withdrawn now? I know it's not because of you emotional shielding, because I experienced all levels of that during our time traveling together… No, this is much more along the lines of someone who has just had everything they thought they knew taken from them, rearranged, and then handed back to them as if nothing had happened while they're expected to go on as if everything is normal."

Kai felt a small smile fight through his barriers at the apt, if blunt, way Kyo had described his situation. "Kyo-sensei," he started uneasily, "you know that my mother was there with Tsunade-sama when I got to her office, right?"

Kai paused for a moment and looked to Kyo again in time to see him nod. "Well, do you know who else was there?"

Kyo shook his head, "All in all, the meeting was very private. The only reason I know about Ushina is because Izumi saw her enter the office just as she was leaving from her latest meeting with Tsunade and managed to identify her from what you told us about her. Come to think of it, Izumi mentioned seeing a man with her, but she couldn't identify him at all…"

Kai sighed and paused a moment to let his emotions settle once again, "Well… Do you remember the story I told you about how I got this scar on my face?"

Kyo tilted his head back for a moment and closed his eyes before nodding, "Something along the lines of a Shinobi who was working with the bandits who took over your home village, Seiru I think you said. He overpowered you and cut you across your face before just leaving you there… And I'm assuming that he was the guy with Ushina… oh…"

"Yeah…" Kai said slowly, letting out a soft sigh into the cool evening air.

There was another pause, this one noticeable more uncomfortable, before Kyo spoke again, "So… are they dating or something?"

Kai barely repressed the self-pitying chuckle that threatened to break through, "It's a little more than that… They're married…"

"Say what now!?" Kyo nearly shouted as he spun to face Kai once again, "They're married!? When did this happen?"

Kai failed to repress the smile this time, taking a small amount of pleasure in managing to throw the normally stoic Kyo for a loop, it was truly a rare moment. "Well," he pretended to think for a moment, "I would have to say about eight or nine months before I was born."

Kyo started to speak again, but caught himself and relaxed before looking back up to the sky. "So…" he said after another moment, "he's your father then; your biological father."

"Yep."

"Wow…"

"Yep."

"That's kinda crazy…"

"Yep."

"…"

Kai sighed and sat down in the grass in front of the Memorial Stone, "I just don't really know what to think anymore… Seiru is my father, there's no doubt about that since Kaa-san wouldn't lie to me about something as big as this, but… at the same time…"

"He was once your enemy. You faced him from the other side of the battle field and paid a price for your loss. Now you are having trouble reconciling the version of him you had before with what you believe that you should be feeling since he's your father."

Kai looked up at Kyo again with wide eyes, "Actually… that pretty much describes it perfectly. How'd you guess?"

Kyo smirked before dropping down to the grass as well, adjusting Goryu across his back before speaking, "Well, I can't say that I've been there before, because I never knew my father personally, all I know about him is that he went MIA during a rather routine mission, but it doesn't take a genius to figure something like that out; at least, not for someone who knows you like Izumi and I do. In all honesty Kai, you're fairly easy for us to read."

Kai turned to the older Shinobi and smirked, "Oh?"

Kyo nodded sagely and lifted one hand into the air, his finger pointing upward, "For example, we pretty much guessed how you would do in your ranking battles and how you would be placed, although that had a lot to do with Izumi's prior knowledge of Tsunade, and we both knew exactly how you would react to the whole Ino situation once we found out about it, which is why I tried to help you out that first night; although it would seem as if it didn't work exactly as planned."

Kai winced, feeling dread wash over him, fearing that Kyo was about to give him a lecture of some sort.

However, the Jonin only sighed, "I'm not going to beat you up about this Kai. If there's anything I've learned during my time traveling with you, other than the fact that I really don't like raising kids through puberty," he paused here and shot Kai a smirk, which he hesitantly returned, "it's that you don't respond well to someone telling you what you should and shouldn't be doing, at least not when its phrased as an order."

Kai let out another sigh but didn't say anything. The two simply sat there, listening to the nighttime sounds of Konoha from one direction and the nighttime sounds of the forests coming from the other. Finally, Kyo spoke again, "As I said Kai, I won't tell you what to do, I can only give you my advice, and this comes from Izumi too. When I mentioned your emotional barrier that night after we first got here, I didn't mean for you to use it to try and solve your problems; you're only holding everything in with that technique, hiding it instead of dealing with it, and that's not healthy for anyone. Eventually, the pressure will surpass your ability to withstand it and you will break down. There's no telling when it will happen, but it will. Best case, it'll happen here in Konoha, probably in front of one or more of the people you're stressing over. Worst case, on a mission… and that could be potentially fatal for you and your team…

"I know you're hurting, on more fronts than one now that this whole Seiru thing has popped up, but my advice to you is to talk to someone. Get these problems off your chest and you'll feel a lot better about everything, I promise. I'm not saying that you have to talk to me, or Izumi, or Tsunade, or Jiraiya… actually Jiraiya would probably be a _really_ bad idea to talk about the Ino thing with… or anyone in particular really, but I think you should get these things off your chest before they eat you alive."

With that said, Kyo rose to his feet once more and lightly placed his hand on Kai's shoulder before giving it a reassuring squeeze, "I know you'll make it to the end of all this one way or another Kai, and no matter how you get there, one day we'll all look back on this and laugh as we talk about how emo you used to be."

Kai turned to snap at Kyo, only to see the telltale signs of a Shunshin where the swordsman had been standing. He sighed, if only things were as easy as Kyo had made them out to be. Saying things and acknowledging them as being (probably) correct was one thing, actually acting on them was something else entirely.

The next few weeks were rather stressful for Kai. He was going out of his way to avoid his mother and Seiru, he refused to think of the man as his father just yet for his own mental stability, which wasn't really hard since they were staying in two different hotels nearly on opposite sides of the village.

He soon found himself falling into a kind of schedule once again. He would wake up around eight or so and eat before leaving his room and heading to Training Ground 7 where he would meet up with Naruto when the Jinchuuriki wasn't out on a mission. After some training, usually a spar, they would go to Ichiraku's and have lunch before going their separate ways, Naruto to get a mission so he could pay his bills, and Kai back to training. What he worked on during his solo training varied day-to-day, but no matter what it was, he was always trying to drive himself to exhaustion so that when the sun set and he headed back to his hotel, he would be able to fall asleep with little to no trouble.

That soon changed though, as Kyo and Izumi had apparently been keeping tabs on him during his training. Two weeks after Ushina and Seiru arrived in Konoha, the former mercs approached him during his solo training and all but ordered him to diversify a little bit. Before, he had mostly been working with his Reimeiken forms and Jutsu that were particularly chakra intensive to help wear himself out, but his two former companions forced him to work on his chakra control and even study his sealing as well.

This lead Kai to a bit of a problem; he had been working so hard to avoid the dreams; dreams that usually woke him up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat or shaking with repressed tears. All in all, it wasn't a very restful situation to be in.

Kai flat out refused to tell Kyo and Izumi about his dreams, believing, and rightly so, that they would immediately go to Tsunade, who would then probably recommend him for some psychiatric help, which would direct him to the Yamanaka clan and, by extension, Ino, which was exactly the opposite of what he thought he needed.

After a few days of the less tiring workouts leading to less than restful nights that even increasing his mental shields couldn't help, Kai remembered when he had first started experimenting with the chakra storage capabilities of the crystal on Reimeiken. The first time he had done it, he had accidentally sent himself into a state of chakra exhaustion. But back then his control had been atrocious compared to where he was now.

Starting that night, Kai began pushing the majority of his remaining chakra into Reimeiken every night, storing it in the crystal and leaving himself in the desired state of exhaustion that lead to pleasantly dreamless sleep.

Takagoei merely shook his head and sighed before drifting off to sleep himself…

The next morning, Kai woke easily and looked around with his sleep blurred eyes until they settled on Reimeiken where it was propped up against his bedside table. Immediately, he woke completely, remembering what he had done the night before and let out a small, self satisfied smirk.

Already looking forward to the day ahead with greatly buffered enthusiasm, Kai cleaned himself up and dressed before grabbing a small meal and leaving through his window to meet Naruto for their early morning spar.

The orange-clad Shinobi was already waiting for him this morning, but he had an unusually thoughtful look on his face. "Onii-san," Naruto said once he spotted the Tokubetsu Jonin, "I had a dream last night that made me think…"

"And you're still conscious?" Kai quipped with a small smile to soften the jab.

Naruto shot him a half-hearted glare before returning to his thoughtful look, "I dreamt about the fight in the Valley of the End… When you showed up and helped me against Sasuke… And how we beat him in the end…"

Kai closed his eyes for a moment and thought back, a feat that was relatively easy due to his mental organization, "Yeah, I remember now… We combined our attacks to beast his Curse Seal powered Chidori and then I used Takagoei's spirit chakra to remove the mark."

"Exactly," Naruto said, excited now to the point that he was almost bouncing, "I was thinking of how awesome it would be if we could figure out how that happened, my Rasengan combining with your Chidori I mean. It would be a super-awesome Jutsu to use if we're ever fighting against someone together like that again!"

Kai looked up to the sky for a moment before nodding and looking back to Naruto, "Yeah, I think we could actually do that. The two Jutsu are essentially the same thing, according to Kakashi-sensei's scroll. He was actually trying to learn the Rasengan when he first created the Chidori, so it shouldn't be too hard to recreate the conditions from the valley fight." Kai was getting a little excited now, "While we're at it, we could even try the same thing with the Raikiri, although I can't use that one nearly as much as the Chidori, so that's probably a project saved for another day."

Naruto probably hadn't heard what Kai had said about the Raikiri, because he just kept plowing forward, "So, should we get started Onii-san?"

Kai was forced to laugh at his friend's eagerness, "Just slow down a second Naruto. These Jutsu are both assassination types, we are going to need someone here to keep an eye on us, preferable someone with medical training."

Naruto paused, "But Kai, don't you have medical training?"

Kai sighed, once again astounded at Naruto's enthusiasm at the detriment of his common sense in the face of a new Jutsu, "Yes, Naruto, but if I'm the one who ends up being hurt to the point where I need medical attention myself, all the medical training in the world won't do me any good."

Naruto laughed uneasily and scratched the back of his head, "I guess you've got a point there Onii-san… Come on, let's go see Baa-chan, I'm sure she'll help us find someone."

Kai then found himself being practically dragged to Hokage tower before Naruto unceremoniously kicked open the door to Tsunade's office, "Baa-chan! I need a favor!"

Tsunade was jerked violently from her mid-morning nap, which didn't help her temper any, "NARUTO! How many times have I told you not to barge in here like this?"

Naruto just laughed again before completely ignoring Tsunade's temper and pressing on, "Baa-chan, Kai and I have an idea for a new Jutsu combination, but he thinks it would be better to have someone with medical training there to patch us back up if we have too much trouble."

Tsunade immediately assumed a more professional look before turning to Kai, "Could you please explain the idea Kai? I would ask Naruto, but I probably wouldn't get a good enough answer out of him around how 'cool' the Jutsu will be."

Ignoring Naruto's immediate protest, Kai settled into his 'reporting to a superior' mindset, "During our fight against Uchiha Sasuke in the Valley of the End, we used the Rasengan and the Chidori to counteract Sasuke's empowered Chidori and the two Jutsu seemed to react favorably with each other. In fact, we all but proved our theory in the battle by forcibly combining the two Jutsu to overpower Sasuke's attack. Naruto remembered the battle and thought that we should work out how to combine the two effectively all the time in case we ever needed it. I just felt that, since the two techniques are assassination Jutsu it would be a good idea to have a medic on hand, just in case."

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully, "I see… Yes, I believe that you two should explore the possibilities there. I'll send someone to watch over you two shortly. You're at Training Ground 7 I assume?" Both boys nodded, and she returned it, "Good, I'll send someone there as soon as I can. Oh, and Kai, you don't need to be so formal when it's just us. I think that if I can deal with Naruto's complete lack of respect for authority I can deal with a little relaxation from others who are around him so often."

Recognizing the dismissal for what it was, Kai bowed and all but dragged Naruto out of the office. It wasn't till they were gone that Tsunade's pleasant smile fell from her face. Kai hadn't reacted at all to the little verbal jab she gave him at the end, and that wasn't good. As Hokage and a medic, she made it her business to take a personal interest in the physical and mental health of her Shinobi, and Kai was clearly not completely there on the mental/emotional side of the equation. She would have to talk to Izumi again and see if there was anything that she thought could be done to help him short of a full intervention with the weight of the Hokage behind it.

With a sigh, Tsunade pulled out the records for any Shinobi with medic training that were currently in the village and easily made her selection, dispatching an ANBU to let them know of their new assignment.

After an hour or so of boring (to Naruto) discussion of the theory behind the two Jutsu, which essentially entailed Naruto telling Kai all he remembered about the Jutsu that Jiraiya had told him while Kai tried to find any reason that it _wouldn't_ work, their medic finally arrived; or, more specifically, _medics_.

"Hinata-chan, Sakura-chan, what are you two doing here?" Naruto was obviously as clueless as ever.

Resisting the almost constantly present urge to smack him on the head, Sakura answered while Hinata giggled at her boyfriend, "Tsunade-sama sent us here to help you two with whatever it is you're working on."

Naruto immediately perked up, "Really! This just gets better and better!" The hyperactive Genin dashed forward and easily lifted Hinata into the air, swinging her around before kissing her. "Not only do we get to create a new Jutsu, but Hinata-chan is here to patch me up afterward!"

Hinata laughed, but her blush was slowly creeping across her face at the thought of Kai and Sakura both seeing her, "Naruto-kun, put me down. You need to get to work."

Naruto nearly threw Hinata away in his eagerness to get started before his excitement subdued common sense caused him to set her down gently before he jumped over to Kai's side once again, "Right! You ready Onii-san?"

Kai sweatdropped, "Uh… Naruto… I think we should let Sakura and Hinata know what we're doing first…"

"GAH!" Naruto shouted, "Not more _talking_! Let's just do this already!"

Kai rolled his eyes as Hinata moved to calm Naruto down before he turned and explained the theory to Sakura, who readily nodded, "I see what you're getting at, and also why you wanted someone here. Knowing Naruto, he'll probably goof it up all day." Kai was only mildly surprised to notice the lack of bite in her words, which explained the teasing glint in her eye and why Naruto didn't immediately start yelling at Sakura. Of course, the fact that Hinata was hugging him could have had something to do with that too.

Kai felt a pang in his heart as he watched his two friends in their embrace and immediately pulled up more of his shielding. He was now almost completely submersed into his Kagetaka state, but it was the only acceptable way he could think of to avoid the pain. "Shall we get started then?" He asked, still somewhat hesitant to break the two apart.

He didn't have to worry though, because with a small kiss to Naruto's cheek, Hinata stepped back to stand with Sakura, leaving the two Shinobi to work out how they were going to get started.

A few hours later, after several healed scrapes, and burns, a few destroyed trees, and one instance of Kai recharging his chakra reserves from Reimeiken and immediately having to sit down and recover from the vertigo caused by having that much chakra infused into his system at once, they had the Jutsu down to a matter of timing and positioning. It really wasn't too much work to make the Jutsu, as they discovered when the two techniques merged seamlessly on the first try, the difficulty came in how fast they did it and then managing to do it while moving so they could apply it in battle.

They first found that Kai was able to move much faster than Naruto could, and was actually required to in order to use the Chidori. Once the Chidori merged with the Rasengan though, the stability of the Rasengan merged with the volatility of the Chidori, evening it out and allowing him to slow down to a more manageable speed for the Genin, but for that to happen, Naruto had to be positioned ahead of Kai with the Rasengan held back so that Kai could maintain his speed until he got to him to merge the two attacks, at which point their next problem revealed itself.

The tunnel vision created by using the Chidori made it somewhat more difficult for Kai to hold the Chidori in such a way as to hit the Rasengan without giving Naruto some rather painful, if easily healed, electrical burns. By lunch, and therefore the end of their first day of work on the Jutsu combination, they still hadn't managed to find a way to avoid this problem, short of practice and having Naruto hold a certain stance until Kai met with him, and this was only while Naruto started at a standstill, which was all but impossible in most Shinobi battles. They, meaning everyone but Naruto who was still wrapped up in his excitement to the point where he nearly didn't feel his numerous burns before they were healed, knew that once both Shinobi were moving from the start, it would come down to precise timing and synchronization as well as positioning.

Just as they were about to leave for Ichiraku's, Tsunade, quite literally, dropped in, nearly landing on Naruto, who hadn't been paying attention as he walked toward the exit to the training grounds, "So, how was today's progress?"

"AH! YOU NEARLY LANDED ON ME!" Naruto shouted before being quelled by the Hokage's glare and continuing in a more sedate voice, "Baa-chan, how did you know we were finished for the day?"

Tsunade just smiled, "As Hokage, I make it my business to know the schedules of my more promising Shinobi, and personally, I make it my business to make sure you aren't trying to kill yourself with your training and eating habits."

"So… basically you've been spying on me with the crystal ball that Jiji used to use to peek on the hot springs with?"

Tsunade's fist drove Naruto's face into the ground and glared at the back of his head with a vein throbbing in her temple while the other three just sweatdropped.

Kai, deciding to intervene before Naruto got himself sent to the village gates via a Tsunade Punch, explained their progress to the Hokage. She got a thoughtful look on her face for a moment, "Well, the way I see it, this could end up being more trouble than it's worth. It sounds like it's going to take a lot of precision just to get it to work in practice, much less in battle. How do you know it's even worth it?"

Naruto was immediately up off the ground and dragging Kai over to a trio of trees that were still standing, gesturing for Tsunade to follow. "Watch this Baa-chan," Naruto said before forming a Rasengan and grinding it into his tree on the far left of the three, digging out a large depression before blowing out the back side of the tree and causing the rest to fall over with a crash.

Naruto turned to Kai and gestured to him. Finally seeing what Naruto was getting at, Kai leapt backwards, forming the three required seals in midair, before hitting the ground with a cry of, "_CHIDORI!_" and shooting forward to pierce the right-most tree straight through, sending it toppling to the ground with Naruto's.

"Alright," Tsunade said dryly, "Thank you for that wonderful display of the destructive capability of two of Konoha's more well-known Assassination Jutsu. Is there a point?"

Sakura and Hinata, almost simultaneously realizing what the two were doing, each grabbed one of Tsunade's arms and pulled her back several yards. "Just wait Tsunade-sama," Sakura said when the Hokage shot a look at her, "you'll see what they're doing in a second."

Tsunade turned her attention back to the two boys, who had placed themselves about four feet apart near the final tree. "You ready Baa-chan?" Naruto called with a huge grin on his face, "This is how we know it's gonna be worth it!"

As Tsunade watched, Naruto formed another Rasengan, which was soon joined by the chirping sound of Kai's Chidori. With the ease of the last several hours of practice, the two Shinobi pressed the two techniques together, creating a seamless, bright blue orb that had a few bolts of lightning sparking out of it at random intervals.

"Now watch this!" Naruto cried as the two tensed up and simultaneously thrust the Jutsu at the remaining tree. There was a groaning sound as the tree resisted, but finally, with a loud crack that was followed by a louder explosion, the tree gave way, engulfing the clearing in a cloud of dust.

When the air cleared, Tsunade caught sight of a smiling Naruto and a clearly exhausted Kai. When the rest of the dust settled, Tsunade saw the tree… or at least the shattered stump where the tree had been… as well as the six or seven similar tree stumps behind it.

Tsunade gulped at the level of destruction caused by the disproportionately small Jutsu, "I see your point…"

Not too long afterward, the five of them were in the Hokage's office. Tsunade had practically herded them to Ichiraku's, bought them all ramen to go, and then herded them once more to her office before activating privacy seals all around her office so they could talk while they ate.

"From what we can tell through our limited experiments with it so far," Kai was explaining, "The shell created by the Rasengan contains and amplifies the volatility of the Chidori, and when the shell is broken by contact with the target, the energy is all released in the direction of the contact point, creating the effect you saw earlier."

"So," Tsunade said slowly after mulling over the details of their work for a few minutes, "it sounds like you have quite a few major roadblocks in the way, but it should still be usable."

"That was our conclusion as well Tsunade-sama," Kai said, still in full, formal report mode, "it will just take more time."

Tsunade, once again reminded of her concerns for the Tokubetsu Jonin, nodded, "Does it have a name yet?"

Kai looked to Naruto, who paused in the systematic annihilation of the ramen in his tenth bowl to answer, "We're thinking of calling it the Rasengori."

The Hokage nodded once again before making a few notes on a scroll in front of her and setting it aside, "Alright you four, I'm labeling this technique as an S Rank Assassination Jutsu. Only the fact that it has to be performed by two separate people is keeping it from being forbidden entirely. The dangers involved in using it are almost as devastating as the Jutsu itself, but that also works to your advantage since it requires complete trust on both sides to use it successfully. Not to mention the fact that only three people in this village know the Chidori and only two, if you count Jiraiya, know the Rasengan. I'm assuming that you two want to keep working on this?" She waited for Naruto and Kai to both nod before continuing, "And can I count on you, Sakura and Hinata, to continue to meet with them to be their medical backup until they finish, as long as other duties don't interfere?" When the two girls nodded, Tsunade nodded as well, "Then I want you to continue as you have been. Don't overdo it, but don't give it up. This Jutsu has some promise to it and with what Jiraiya has heard about through his spy networks… Well, I want everyone to be as prepared as possible…"

Naruto nodded solemnly, confusing Kai slightly, but not enough for him to bring it up. "Very well then," Tsunade continued after a moment, seeing that everyone had finished eating, "you are all dismissed."

AN: Meh, mostly filler this time, but when I passed 10 pages, I decided that there was enough here to post without me feeling like I was forcing anything else out. I should be able to get another chapter out before I start up the busy part of my summer job by doing just what I did a few chapters ago: writing during my lunch breaks. But of course, that is provided that my inspiration keeps up, although that shouldn't be too much of a problem. (hint hint that I will explain later in the AN)

Jutsu List:

_Chidori_: One Thousand Birds

_Rasengori_: Absolutely nothing to my knowledge. I just thought it sounded good.

Alright, excuses time again; basically the same thing as last time. I said that my classes were supposed to be two days a week now, well my school decided to screw me over and put one of them on the two days that I was supposed to be free on. On top of that, one of my professors is about the most unrealistic man I have ever had the displeasure of being taught by. I had to drop his class in order to keep up with everything else I was doing and still keep my GPA up, and to make things even better (note sarcasm) I still have to take his class to reach my desired major… ugh…

Spring Break wasn't long enough between working and being sick, and I am currently writing this toward the end of the first week of my summer vacation. I have one more full week before the office work part of my summer job starts on the 17th, during which I may be able to write another chapter, as I said before.

I'll try to post this as soon as possible, but, in case the dates don't match up when this chapter gets posted, I will say that I plan on posting this using the free wireless internet provided at Culvers in town the next time I'm there (whenever that will be) since Kyo (my brother will simple be referred to as Kyo in ANs from now on) has decided to change the password on his computer (the only one we have at home that can get on the internet) and won't tell me what he changed it to (he says he did it so I wouldn't be reading fanfics on his computer and keeping him from doing absolutely nothing on it for hours at a time. Seriously, he just doesn't want me reading on his computer…) So, I am essentially unable to get on the web at home anymore.

OK, enough excuses, time for future plans. Long ago, in a galaxy not so far away (I don't own Star Wars), in my bedroom, sitting on my bed, when I first started planning and writing this series with What the Future Holds, I had planned on a 5 part series that would span 3 regular OC Naruto fics, one Naruto crossover fic, and one Naruto crossover short story compilation where each chapter would be a different crossover, not necessarily in that order (believe me, this idea will make a whole lot more sense once I finish Rebuilding the Past).

As time has passed, however, I decided that I really didn't feel like taking the time, or finding the inspiration, to write the crossovers, so I'm just gonna drop them completely. Oh sure, they will still be a part of the story, but I won't go into any actual detail about them unless it is relevant to the story, which only a few of the crossover parts actually would be. At best, I will take part in what seems to be a Naruto fic author's standby, and write a few Omake to put in at the end of some of the chapters.

So, in summary: what was once going to be a 5 part series will now be a simple trilogy, while still retaining all the important plot points that it needs. ^_\\

And, to make things even better, Kyo finished another picture of Kai, which is actually what inspired me to finish this chapter and start work on the next one. I already had a series of pictures that he made last summer of Kai and Kagetaka, and even a few of Hito, that I plan on posting to my Deviant Art account soon, but I didn't want to put them up until a certain point in the story. As this point is probably going to come up next chapter, and I don't think my boss will like me getting on Deviant Art at work, I'm going to try to post them when I put up the chapter, including the concept art picture of Kai in the beginning of the still nameless third book in Kai's trilogy that sparked off this chapter and the ones after it. FREAKING SWEET!

_**IMPORTANT:**_

Alright, this is a note being made after attempting to get to DA. I'm sitting at Culvers now, using their wireless internet to post the chapter, and their network has Deviant Art blocked... Yeah... I'll try toget Kyo to let me use his computer to post them, but no promises...

Anyway, please don't forget to review! And Gravenimage, you're being timed lol


	22. Story so Far

*RtP*

The following is intended as a sort of Story so Far since it has been so freaking long since I updated this thing, which I'm seriously sorry about. AN is in next chapter giving my generic explanation that you have all heard thousands of times before I'm sure…

The events described below don't cover "What the Future Holds," only "Rebuilding the Past" since it is arguably the farthest from cannon between the two and so has the greater need for recap. I understand how annoying it is to have to re-read a story when a chapter is posted after a long break, so this is here to alleviate that need, and hopefully the annoyance.

As a further note, if someone decides to waste their time and check everything, I seriously doubt that these events will be in the exact order that I put them in here. I honestly just re-read the new chapter and made a list of stuff that I felt needed to be mentioned so the chapter could be fully understood and then built from there. It is possible it's not all chronological as a result.

*RtP*

First thing that I think needs to be done is to run though my OC's really quick just as a specific refresher.

**Wareta Kai**

Main character of the story, if you've forgotten who he is, maybe you SHOULD read the entire thing over…

**Kagetaka**

Kai's alter ego for his assassin jobs. Kai deadens his emotions and puts on what basically amounts to a traditional ninja garb with the black mask and hood and such.

**Takagoei**

Kai's white falcon partner that is actually the Guardian Spirit of the entire Wareta Clan

**Kanba**

Lesser Demon of fire that takes the shape of a black stallion. Kai saved him from bandits and he decided to seal himself within Kai to aid him in future endeavors.

**Momotaro Kyo (Key-Oh)**

Original character by my younger brother. A mercenary originally hired by Danzo to keep Kai from leaving Konoha at the end of WtFH who let him go once he got Kai's side of the story. Becomes one of Kai's sensei in RtP as well as his traveling companion and joins him in Konoha.

**Motosua Izumi (Ee-Zoo-Me)**

Original character by my younger brother's now ex-girlfriend. A leopard Hanyo who found her mate in Momotaro Kyo. A mercenary like Kyo who does all the stuff I just said Kyo does in the above paragraph.

**Seijitsu Yue (Yoo-Aye)**

Old friend of Kai's mom. Comes to train him for the Chunin Exams in WtFH and leaves with him at the end. Takes him to his old village at the beginning of RtP.

**Wareta Ushina (Oo-She-Nah)**

Kai's mom. Though to be dead until early chapters of RtP.

**Zanbifushi Hito**

Main antagonist. Body switcher on a level with Orochimaru, only less of a pedo than the Hebi-teme. Been alive for a stupid long time and is quite evil and possibly slightly insane as a result.

**Seiru (Say-Roo)(Never gave him a family name)**

Kai's father, though neither knew that when they first met.

*RtP*

And now, the play by play of the story so far… I apologize for the slightly messy format.

Kai and Yue, after leaving Konoha at the end of WtFH travel to and arrive at Kai's home village, which I am fairly sure was nameless…

They kill a bunch of bandits there and random useless plot device girls are found in the wake of the battle… I really don't know why I added them to be honest. I think it was kind of a "what the heck, why not?" type of thing… ugh…

Kai finds a bow with a note from his mother in his old house and takes it as his own.

Kai fights against Seiru, former lieutenant of the bandit leader, and gets a scar across his face before the man leaves him alive because he recognized the Miraigan.

Kai's mom shows up, miraculously alive, and gives him his sword Reimeiken and eventually an amulet that contains the Wareta family guardian spirit, a white falcon named Takagoei.

Kai leaves the village, after learning about Reimeiken and its shape shifting abilities, alongside Zabuza and Haku who begin his further training and his life as a traveling mercenary.

Kai creates the persona of Kagetaka, an assassin with no emotion, for him to perform assassination missions as. He does so by completely locking away his emotion as he is too naturally lighthearted to be able to deal with such a job easily, yet that is what his skill-set is most readily geared toward.

While with them, Kai inadvertently comes across the Valley of the End and helps Naruto in his fight against Sasuke. The result of this fight is that, with the help of Takagoei, the curse mark is removed from Sasuke and he returns to Konoha with Naruto.

After spending some time (maybe a year, I don't specifically remember and am too lazy to look it up at the moment) with Zabuza and Haku, Kai leaves them and travels off to find his next teachers, which his mother predicted he would find with her Fajoukei Miraigan, one of two forms a fully developed Miraigan could take (one or the other, the other being the Oonami (Surge) Miraigan) which basically allows her to have visions of the distant future.

On the way, Kai saves a lesser demon horse from a random group of bandits that ends up sealing itself inside him as way of thanks, though he will be unable to use its chakra directly since Kanba was sealed within him at an age older than infancy. In addition, Kai gains the ability to speak telepathically with both Kanba (the demon horse) and Takagoei as a result of this sealing.

Kai meets his next two sensei, Kyo and Izumi, the same to mercenaries who were sent to capture he and Yue but ended up helping them at the end of WtFH.

At the end of the generic Shippuden time-skip, Kai and the others return to Konoha and trick the council, mainly Danzo, into letting the three of the join completely free of any and all charges and immune to the CRA, so Kai can choose his own life instead of being used by the power hungry council types.

Kai fights against Kiba and Neji to help Tsunade decide his future rank in the village and he is eventually promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin.

Kai finds out the hard way the Ino and Kiba are dating. He sees them kissing in the street immediately after seeing Ino for the first time since he left the village three years before (like literally in the same minute). He is heartbroken and begins channeling his inner Edward Cullen as a result, becoming more emo and angsty through the next few chapters. (I don't own Twilight, but I really don't like Edward ^_\^)

After fighting Neji, Kiba and Kai talk about Kiba's relationship with Ino and Kai extracts a promise from him to take care of her or else.

Naruto all but forces Kai to go to a party to celebrate his return and promotion where Kai sees Ino, but ignores her because he saw her with Kiba.

After Kai leaves the party, Sakura talks to Ino about her relationship with Kai, or lack thereof.

Naruto recruits Kai to help him work on a combination Jutsu between the Rasengan and the Chidori based on what happened when the two fought against Sasuke in the Valley of the End. The two Jutsu, seeing as they are very similar and the Chidori is actually based off the Rasengan, are very compatible with each other. Naruto calls it the _Rasengori_.

He starts having nightmares and such and has trouble sleeping and ends up training himself into the ground so he won't dream before Kyo and Izumi put a stop to that, so he starts hiding behind his mental shielding he uses as Kagetaka to avoid the pain and draining his chakra away into Reimeiken each night to avoid the dreams.

At some point in the last few chapters, Seiru shows up in Konoha with Ushina and it is revealed that the man who gave him the scar on his face way back in the early chapters is actually his birth father, thought to be dead by his mother and everyone else when in reality he was nearly killed and then saved by the bandit leader he was working for to pay of his life debt. As a part of the emotional turmoil he is going through, Kai avoids Ushina and Seiru for some time before the events of the new chapter. At this point he still hasn't really spoken to either of them.

*RtP*

Okay, now hopefully you will be ready to read Chapter 22, which should be posted immediately after this one goes up. Unless of course something goes wrong, which would suck.


	23. Chapter 22

*RtP*

Chapter 22

*RtP*

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: So… yeah… I don't know how long it has been since I started this chapter… well, yeah I know it has been a few years… wow… yeah… uhm… ok then, here is the excuse: Real Life. College sucks, especially when you are an Accounting Major at a school with a Nationally Accredited School of Business, which for those of you who don't understand means that it is one of the best programs in the country and as such is very tough. But hey, I'm done now and I have my Bachelor's Degree… So yeah… Yay me! Now I just gotta find a job O.o

On top of that I had been reading so many Harry Potter fics that I lost my drive for this one. I actually did make an attempt at working on this Fall of… 2011 I believe… but I didn't get more than two paragraphs in before I stopped, re-read what I had just typed, and closed the window without saving because it sucked so terribly bad. I was not in a Naruto type mindset, and so had to read Naruto fics to get back into the proper mindset. But I had no drive to read Naruto fics, and so the wait extended further still.

Anyway, summing it up, I recently got back into reading Naruto stuff and have had a number of ideas and things that I want to do, most of which are for the third and final part of Kai's epic, so I have to finish this one to get to that… grr… ah well, on with the show!

Response to Reviewers: BTW, from now on I will be doing these by PM, since that seems to be the thing to do now... Unless of course there is a review that I feel needs to be put on here. Just wanted to mention that.

**Gravenimage**: Yeah, sorry I didn't get around to updating soon... yeah... Mostly in the last chapter Kai was still in shock about Seiru, not really accepting it. He kinda pushed it away with everything else going on, though he will have to deal with it all soon.

**Silver Shadowbreeze**: Mostly the name came from a friend of mine back in the day when I was playing the Naruto Arena Online... good times... when I would have both Naruto and Sasuke in my team and I would have them use Rasengan and Chidori in the same turn he could call it the Rasengori. So thats where that came from. I haven't thought about any further levels for this. Its mostly just a "when they can its pretty powerful for relatively little effort" kinda thing when compared to the Rasenshuriken...

**Insufficient**: I'm glad you liked my minor attempt at humor and I'm sorry you didn't like my cannon pairing. I figured that with as far as I'm deviating from cannon I need to have something in there to stabilize it. I'm not partial to the pairing myself seeing as I rarely read it unless it just sneaks up on me, mostly due to surprise CRA harem fics, but all the same... meh... I'm sorry about my update rates. If it makes you feel any better, the story so far post just before this one was entirely due to your review of Chapter 21. I hope it helped.

**SadisticRed**: So for anyone else who reads reviews of other fanfiction than their own, the review left by SadisticRed may seem a bit odd. Allow me to explain this by saying that I know, or at least knew since I haven't seen them in at least a year, them outside of and I once spent a day hanging out with them in a group and found we had a mutual love of fanfiction. I then spent some time describing some of my more random ideas I had once had for this story. A few days later I got the review and facepalmed. O.o Anyway, thanks Red for your kind words.

AN2: I am trying something different with my section dividers. Hopefully they will actually show up now… XP

AN3: after typing the above review responses I actually looked to see when I last posted a chapter... its been four and half years! OMFG! Since August 25, 2008... I hadn't realized it had been that long... yeah...

And now, the long awaited and hopefully eagerly anticipated Chapter 22 of Rebuilding the Past!

*RtP*

Ino was conflicted. And all her problems could be traced to one source: Kai.

But it wasn't the same problem that she had described to Sakura at Kai's party two months before, no, this went a little deeper. She had taken her pink haired friend's advice and spoken with Izumi and then, using the half-demon's advice and instructions, had done some investigation of her own into Kai's behavior.

Now, Ino knew that she wasn't fully proficient in her clan's Jutsu and general specialties, but she could easily tell, when she wasn't submerged in her own distress, that something was wrong with Kai. She couldn't go so far as to use her _Shintenshin no Jutsu_ on him because she knew that with his well developed mindscape he would immediately know what had happened, but even without it she knew that he was hurting, just as Sakura had said.

After coming to this conclusion for herself, her initial reaction had been fairly similar to when Sakura had told her the same thing in the bar: anger. Kai had no right to be upset with her for dating Kiba. He had been gone for three years, and there had been nothing going on between them apart from a mutual attraction to each other that they had almost-not-quite admitted on the night he left. She was perfectly within her rights to do as she had done. She was the one who should be outraged and insulted at his actions.

Then, Izumi had found her again; coming from a talk with Sakura and clearly expecting Ino to be reacting as she had been. The hanyo had once again sat down with her and helped her understand the depths of Kai's psyche as she understood it, now bolstered with Ino's own observations.

The new conclusions she had come to had startled the blonde. Kai really did like her. Dare she even suggest… love…? Could it even work like that? She had been his biggest motivation and reason for returning to Konoha for his entire self-imposed/council-forced exile. The whole time he was working on becoming stronger and figuring out a way to come back to Konoha… back to her. Naruto may have been his friend, but it was usually Ino that he talked about when the occasion arose around the evening campfire.

At first, Ino had started getting depressed herself, beginning to feel that maybe, just maybe, she was really the one to blame for Kai's current situation. Maybe she should have held on a little bit longer. After all, she and Kiba had only been dating for a few months when Kai finally came back. If only her resolve had held out a bit longer…

But Izumi had firmly, and literally, smacked that notion down as well. Once Ino righted herself and soothed the slight ache in her cheek, Izumi explained that she was most certainly not to blame. In fact, neither of the two teenagers were to blame. It was only natural that something like this had happened between them, and, honestly, Kyo and Izumi had more than expected it to.

Once she had managed to calm Ino down again, she left the Chunin to her thoughts once more, telling her only that she couldn't make up her mind for her. Ino, having gone from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other and then back to confusion had been in the mood for nothing more than sleep at that point.

That had been a week ago, just a few days after Kai had begun training with Naruto, with the aid of Sakura and Hinata, to work on what Naruto had called, in the few moments that she had been able to speak with him before he ran off again, "Their super secret, super awesome, incredibly cool Jutsu that would blow everything else completely out of the water!"

Ever since her talk with Izumi, Ino had been trying to find the time to talk with Kai alone. She knew that that was the only way to sort out what was going on between the two of them, but she could never find him when he wasn't working on his new Jutsu with Naruto, and Kami protect her if she tried to interrupt them. She knew Naruto well enough to know not to try and pull Kai away to talk during his practice time with the excitable blonde boy. All the same, she had become so focused on trying to talk with the Tokubetsu Jonin that she hadn't been paying too much attention to Kiba…

SHIT! Kiba! She was on a date with Kiba!

Ino shook herself out of her mental stupor to see her Inuzuka boyfriend staring at her with a concerned look on his face. "You alright Ino-chan?" he asked, "It looked like you were off in your own world there for a bit."

Ino gave him a weak smile, "Yeah, I'm fine Kiba-kun, just lost in thought."

'Just perfect,' Ino thought, 'now he's going to think something's wrong…' In truth, Kiba wasn't the only one she had been ignoring. Her father had also noticed that she had been slacking during her duties in the family flower shop and had called her out on it one night. She was not overly fond of father-daughter talks… or at least not ones with a disciplinary focus to them. On top of that, Asuma, Shikamaru, and Choji had also commented on her being rather unobservant lately…

*RtP*

Kiba sighed, "And she's gone again…" he muttered under his breath. She had been doing this more and more often lately and it didn't take a genius to figure out why.

With another sigh, Kiba shifted in his seat in their booth at the Dango restaurant that he had taken Ino to for their date, if you could call it that. He had resigned himself to the inevitable a few days ago and this entire 'date' was really just about him working up the guts, and somehow getting her attention long enough, to do what he had to do.

Reaching across the table, Kiba snapped his fingers a few times in front of Ino's eyes, attempting to, once again, get her attention.

*RtP*

Ino came out of her daze again and was about to begin apologizing when she saw the look in Kiba's eyes. It wasn't the same concerned look he had had before and it wasn't angry or happy either. He looked… determined…

"What is it Kiba-kun?" Ino asked, now concerned herself.

"Ino…" he started off with a sigh, "I've noticed something this last week or so. You've been really distracted and unobservant."

Ino started to say something, but Kiba waved her off as soon as she opened her mouth, "No, let me finish. You've even spent our entire time together today lost in your own daydreams."

Ino felt her jaw drop. Kiba seemed… well, not quite angry, but he definitely looked at least a little irritated with her. Had she really been that bad? Ino closed her mouth with a snap and sighed mentally, she had to admit that she had.

"And the thing is," Kiba continued, "we both know why, don't we?"

Ino suddenly began connecting the dots in her head.

"It's all about Kai, isn't it," Kiba said, although, much to Ino's surprise, he was smiling. "You see Ino-chan," Kiba said, still smiling even as Ino's jaw dropped again, "I'm not as unobservant as most seem to think. I've seen how you and Kai have both been acting since he got back and especially in the last week or so. You're losing focus at the drop of a pin and, for a while, almost seemed like you were a hair's width away from going into a rage some of the time. Kai's been training himself into the ground every night and when he sleeps, if he sleeps, it can't be very restful with how worn he has been looking. Something is bugging the both of you and everyone else is very concerned… which brings me to why I asked you out today…"

Ino sat up straight. There was another reason for him asking her out today?

"Ino-chan, I think we need to see other people."

Ino froze. Kiba had just broken up with her…

"W…what…? Why?" she stammered.

Kiba's smile softened, "Ino, I think you know. You and Kai have been tearing yourselves up ever since he came back. Now you two can get together and I won't stand in the way. It is clear to me, and to most everyone else, that you two haven't gotten past your mutual attraction from our early Genin days and I think that you need to at least give it a shot. In fact, if you need any help getting him out of his funk, just give me a call and me and Akamaru will straighten him out." he finished with a smirk, jabbing his thumb into his chest.

Ino felt her spirits lift. Kiba was breaking up with her, true, but he was breaking up with her so she could go after Kai. In fact, he as good as ordered her to go and date Kai.

Smiling brightly now, Ino rose from her seat at their booth, hopped over to Kiba, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, Kiba-kun. Thanks for everything," she said before nearly _skipping_ out of the restaurant.

Kiba sighed, a small, self pitying smile on his face, "Well Kai, I hope you're ready for her, because the promise I made to you when you first came back goes both ways… and I intend to hold you to it…"

*RtP*

Her first move as a newly single girl was to head straight for Training Ground 7 and try to find Kai there, Naruto and his over-the-top reactions be dammed. The only problem was that he wasn't there. This was extremely odd since he, Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura had been there every day since the four started working on their "cool Jutsu" that Ino still didn't know the name of a little under a week and a half ago.

Deciding to try for her next option, Ino turned back toward the residential section of Konoha and headed for Sakura's home. Unfortunately, she wasn't there either. Her mother told Ino that Sakura had been sent out on a mission the day before and she didn't know when she would be back.

Bidding Sakura's mother goodbye, Ino started off toward home. She knew that if Sakura had been sent on a mission, chances were the rest of her team went too, so that explained why there was no one at Training Ground 7 when she went there earlier.

But then, where was Kai?

Ino was roughly brought out of her thoughts when she ran into someone in the middle of the road.

"Gah!" Ino shouted as she fell back from the collision before immediately jumping back to her feet, "Why don't you watch where you're go…ing…" her speech turned to a squeak when she looked up and saw the Hokage with one eyebrow raised as she looked at Ino.

"Excuse me?" Tsunade asked with a half smile on her face.

"Ah…" Ino blushed before sketching a quick salute, "Tsunade-sama, please excuse me… I wasn't thinking straight… I…"

Tsunade lifted her hand, making Ino pause in mid sentence, "I was actually looking for you Ino. Come with me."

Ino felt her heart sink at the Hokage's words. Was she in some kind of trouble? Usually if the Hokage wanted someone for a mission she just sent a messenger bird or ANBU to them. Ino could honestly say that she had never heard of the Hokage personally looking for someone… unless that someone was Naruto that is, and thoughts of what it could be about filled her with fear.

Dread continued to fill her being as Ino followed the older blonde to the Hokage tower, not abating in the slightest and only making her even more nervous until Tsunade sat behind her desk with a sigh and spoke again, breaking Ino out of her reverie, "So Ino, I want to talk to you."

"Hai Hokage-sama." Ino replied, following instinct now since her higher brain functions were completely wiped out due to her nerves.

"I want to talk to you about… Kai"

"Hai Hokag… Wait… What?" Ino stammered, completely caught off guard.

"You honestly didn't think that I wouldn't notice that two of my more high profile up-and-coming Shinobi were not in top form. I did a little digging and I know about your relationship with him, or lack thereof."

"But Hokage-sama, I was…"

"No," Tsunade interrupted, raising her hand again, "do not interrupt. I had hoped that the two of you would work it out on your own, or at least that Sakura would do something to help you sort it out, but it appears that I am going to have to directly intervene. You and Kai need to sit down and work this out before it ends up killing you both, and with things the way they are now, Konoha cannot afford to lose two Shinobi with such great potential like that."

Ino stood frozen for a moment before face faulting. Tsunade had brought her here to give her relationship advice.

"Now," she continued sagely, seemingly not noticing as Ino climbed slowly back to her feet, "I know that you are dating Kiba now, and I don't expect you to dump him to date Kai just because I brought you up here, but you need to work things out with the both of them or none of you will ever get any peace. Kiba hasn't been showing it as obviously as you and Kai, but he's not exactly in top form either."

Ino took her chance when Tsunade paused again to gather her thoughts, "Tsunade-sama, I know all of this already. In fact, when I… uh… ran into you, I was actually looking for Kai so I could talk to him."

Tsunade blinked, "Oh…"

Ino nodded, "And it was actually Kiba that told me to do it." Now that she had gotten started, Ino found that she was unable to stop. After all, she needed to tell someone about all this, so why not the Hokage, who seemed to have taken a personal interest in the situation anyway. Over the next few minutes, Ino found herself telling Tsunade about everything she had been through since Kai went back, telling the entire story from her side: hearing about his return and running into him on his way to his test with Neji and returning his Hitai-ate, his party after the test where Sakura dropped the first bomb on her, various run-ins that never went quite how she wanted, talking to Izumi about the problem, and the last week spent trying to find a chance to talk to him alone. After that, she told Tsunade of her own observations as to his mental state, and was slightly upset by the Hokage's reaction.

"Yes, I suspected as much myself…" Tsunade nodded before reaching into her desk drawer and pulling out a bottle of sake and a saucer, making Ino sweatdrop. "In fact, it may actually be much worse than you think…"

"What do you mean Hokage-sama?" Ino fired back, instantly concerned.

Tsunade poured herself some sake and downed it quickly before replacing the bottle and saucer in her desk once again, "I had a conversation with Ushina, Kai's mother, a few days ago. We spoke of Kai and what Ushina had Seen with her bloodline about him… the results weren't very comforting…"

"What!" Ino had to restrain herself from jumping up and strangling the Hokage till she got to the point, "What do you mean? What's wrong with Kai?"

Tsunade smiled at the show of concern, but sobered quickly, "According to Ushina's visions, and our suspicions, Kai has gotten to the point where he has completely, or nearly completely, suppressed all his emotions. Now, normally this is rather standard for a Shinobi who is as upbeat as he normally is, but other Shinobi have outlets, like Kakashi or Jiraiya with their porn, Asuma with his smoking, Gai with his obsession over training and 'The Power of Youth," and so on. These outlets help remove stress and keep them from damaging themselves mentally, though with Gai the effectiveness of his methods are questionable… Kai, though, has suppressed his emotions on a more permanent basis, using a technique to do so subconsciously. Due to this, he is in danger of irreversibly damaging his mind. If he doesn't stop soon, he won't be able to at all… He won't be Kai anymore… merely an emotionless… machine."

Ino only nodded. Since her family Jutsu mainly dealt with how the mind worked, she was well acquainted with the various ways of damaging one's psyche, and how serious it could get if left unattended.

"But there is still another problem, although on a different aspect," Tsunade continued, making Ino pale slightly, "Ushina suspects, and after observation, I agree with her, that Kai had been forcibly draining his chakra into that sword of his every night so he can avoid his dreams through exhaustion. Kyo and Izumi already reported to me that they had had to step in and stop him from training himself into the ground every day for the same reason. They put him on a more balanced and useful regimen that they supervise, but this keeps him from wearing himself out as much, so we think that he may have turned to this new method to avoid the nightmares.

"This speaks of some degree of mental turmoil, if not damage, on his part already, not to mention what that kind of continual drain can do to him physically. If he is doing it, no matter what his method, and keeps it up, he could end up limiting his chakra capacity even more, if it doesn't permanently shut down his system outright. But, then, that is one reason I sent him on a mission yesterday."

"So, Kai isn't even in the village?" Ino asked, somewhat downtrodden that Kai wasn't around now that she could finally pursue him.

Tsunade shook her head and rose from her seat, walking to the window and looking out over the village, "Kai, along with Squad 7, Kyo, and Izumi, have gone to one of our outposts on the border with the Land of Wind to deliver a package."

Now Ino was confused, "But Hokage-sama, a delivery mission like that is usually only a C-rank at best… If you don't mind my asking, why did you send so many people on such a simple mission? Heck, Kai could have probably handled that mission by himself…"

Tsunade nodded and turned back to the blonde, "That is true, but… and you must understand that I am only telling you this because of your… interest in the situation and it must be kept quiet just like any other set of mission details," she waited for Ino's nod and continued, "good, there is another part of the mission and some extraneous circumstances that must be taken into account. Firstly, the delivery is only the first part of the mission. Afterward, they are going to meet someone and escort them the rest of the way back to Konoha. This person is an old friend of Kai's, which is why he was sent. But, as you said, he could have simply done it himself. The reason I included Kyo and Izumi is so I can have my old apprentice keep an eye on him, form her own diagnosis as to his problem or problems, and start to break him of any bad habits he may have developed during his time back in Konoha, like this forced draining of his chakra network that Ushina and I suspect."

"Then… why Squad 7 too…?"

"Well," Tsunade smirked, "Besides the fact that Naruto would complain if I took Kai away from their training for a mission without giving him one too, it was requested of me that I send along more support for the three. Ushina… well… as crazy as it sounds, Ushina Saw that I was sending Kai on this mission and came into my office yesterday morning, just before I sent the summons out for them. She said that if I didn't send along more support, then I wouldn't be getting any of the three back… It freaked me out more than a little to be honest, but I went ahead and sent Squad 7, which is who she recommended. It's not like they were really needed around the village anyway just now, so I figured, why not…?" Tsunade stopped speaking, realizing that she was rambling a bit, but she felt it was justified. Ushina had creeped her out when she came into Tsunade's office and predicted, with perfect accuracy, everything about the mission that Tsunade was about to call Kai for, and then followed that up with her doom-saying. It was one thing when they were talking about "Seeing" things about a person, which could easily be explained by being able to read someone's character, but actually predicting the future, especially so one so negative, inexplicably sent a chill down her spine.

Ino felt her heart sink as she turned to the window and moved to stand next to the Hokage. "Kai…" she mumbled, "be safe… I'll be waiting when you get back…"

*RtP*

Timeskip: a few days later, with Kai…

*RtP*

Kai was one frustrated Tokubetsu Jonin. Normally, someone in his situation wouldn't be frustrated. He was on a mission traveling through the bright, sunny forests of the Land of Fire on a cloudless day, on an exceedingly simple mission which had the added perk of seeing an as of yet unidentified old friend at the end of it. He knew he should be enjoying it, like Takagoei was high over his head, even though he couldn't fly through the clear blue sky without the falcon's help he should still find some way to revel in the beauty around him while he had the chance.

But it wasn't quite that simple.

Izumi and Kyo had been subtly watching him ever since they had set out from Konoha the day before, so subtly in fact that he nearly hadn't caught onto it until the first night out of the village. When he noticed that they were watching him, he decided that it probably wasn't safe to drain his chakra away into Reimeiken for the duration of the mission as it may cause problems with his two teachers, and so had not slept very much or very well since they had set out.

So, he was frustrated because he realized that this mission was turning out to be more of a chore than dealing with Naruto's incessant urge to work on the _Rasengori_ constantly, whether Kai had enough chakra to form the _Chidori_ or not.

Not that the frustration got to him too much through his emotional shields. He had noticed, after they had been working on the Jutsu for a few days, that Ino had been coming around from time to time and seemed to be trying to get him alone for some reason. Well, Kai felt he already had enough trouble on the Ino side of his life without having her add to it, however unintentionally, with her pity and apologies. He wasn't mad at her, but he didn't want to deal with the heartache that she would most assuredly cause, now or ever.

However, due to her showing up so often, Kai had pulled his mental shields up fully. He was Kagetaka without the name and accessories to his regular outfit. Because of the shielding, any and all emotions, including the aforementioned frustration, only existed as the barest hint of a buzz in the back of his mind.

Which brought him back to his problems with Kyo and Izumi; he knew that they knew that he was fully behind his shields now. You just couldn't work with someone for as long as they did with him and not be able to notice when something like that happens, especially when he regularly did it as a part of his job in their group, and now he was just waiting, unemotionally of course, for the hammer to fall.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, his body was mindlessly going about the regular tasks of setting up the last of the camp tents before the evening sun got too low behind the trees to see. Kyo and Izumi were setting up the fire pit with the wood that Naruto and his clones were still bringing in while Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke had left a short time ago to make their way to a stream that Kakashi had seen on the map provided in their mission specs so that they could refill the group's canteens.

His personal problems and musings aside, the mission had gone well. They had arrived at the outpost early that morning and were now at the appropriate rendezvous point where they were supposed to meet whoever it was they were supposed to be meeting. No one had decided to tell Kai anything more than that they, not even a gender was given, were an old friend.

*RtP*

"Well Izumi-chan," Kyo whispered to his girlfriend, "what do you think?"

Izumi hummed for a moment, glancing at Kai once again, "Well, he knows we're watching him and its irritating him, but not nearly enough as it should, which means that he's in his other persona completely."

Kyo nodded, sighing in regret, "I should have never mentioned that to him…"

"Hey," Izumi said softly, placing a hand on Kyo's shoulder, "It's not your fault that he took it this far. None of this is your fault. That being said, he is definitely doing something to drain his chakra, and my bet would be like Tsunade-sensei said, into Reimeiken."

"Should we try and take it from him till we get back to Konoha?"

Izumi shook her head, "No, I don't think he would…" she was cut off by a cry of surprise followed by the telltale poofing sound of one of Naruto's Kage Bunshin being forcibly dispelled.

"Shit!" a voice called from the trees, while Naruto paled from where he was standing next to the stack of firewood he and his clones had brought in.

"Guys," Naruto said, "we've got trouble… Its Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame from the Akatsuki… with someone else… my clone didn't see who before Kisame got him."

"I'm happy you remember us Naruto-kun"

Kai quickly moved over to stand with his three teammates, his hand resting over his shoulder on Reimeiken's hilt, as Uchiha Itachi, a man who looked surprisingly like a taller, slightly thinner Sasuke, stepped free from the trees in his black-with-red-clouds cloak.

"Yeah, I know," the voice that had shouted earlier said as a taller man with blue skin, very sharp looking teeth, what looked like gills on his face, and a large object wrapped in bandages on his back, stepped out to stand next to his partner, grinning savagely in his matching cloak, "it just makes you all warm and fuzzy inside, don't it?"

"Naruto," Kai said quietly, "who exactly are these guys and why do they seem to know you?"

Naruto sighed, uncharacteristically serious now, "They're part of a group called the Akatsuki, and they're trouble. They are collecting the Biju for some reason, Ero-Sennin wasn't sure why, but what that means is that they need the Jinchuuriki… like me. Ero-Sennin's spy networks have been sending signs that they've been becoming more active lately, trying for the actual Biju or Jinchuuriki instead of just locating and watching them like they have been ever since I first saw these two way back after you first left, when Ero-Sennin and I were going to get Baa-chan to be Hokage."

"So, they're definitely trouble then?" Izumi asked, her face and voice matching Naruto's unusual level of seriousness.

The blonde nodded, "back then, I couldn't even lay a finger on them, probably not even if I used Kyuubi's power, but they ran when Ero-Sennin came back from his… 'Information Gathering,'" he made finger quotes as he said the last part and repressed a wince.

Izumi nodded before looking back at the two Akatsuki. It didn't take more than a few second before Izumi started giggling. In a blur, she wrapped herself around Kyo's arm, leaning fully against him, making him sigh and roll his eyes to Kai above Izumi's head. Kai just smirked, unable to resist even through his shields, knowing Izumi's mannerisms well after three years with the two.

Naruto was a little freaked out, but too worried about Itachi and Kisame still standing silently to let it show… much…

"Oh Kyo-kun," Izumi was giggling louder now, "this will be so much fun! Can I fight the Uchiha? Please? Please? Please-please-please-please-please-please-please-please-plea-"

"Yes!" Kyo near shouted before resting his hand over his face and sighing, "Yes Izumi-chan, you can fight the Uchiha, but you're going to need to let go of my arm and get Katsuya from our tent before…"

Kyo hadn't even finished speaking before Izumi blurred away and returned in an instant, her huge scythe in hand.

"You really wish to fight us?" Itachi droned, looking completely bored with the whole thing, "Things would go much easier for all of us if you just hand over Naruto-kun now and let us be on our way."

"Bite me makeup boy," Izumi shouted, giggling yet again before stepping off to the side, prompting Itachi to move over to match her.

"Well then," Kisame said, grabbing the hilt of the huge weapon on his back and flipping it over him, slamming the end into the ground next to him and making Kai swear he felt the earth shake, "I guess you three get to meet Samehada."

"Kai," Kyo said, pulling Goryu from its harness on his back and holding it before him, "I want you and Naruto to stay back and be ready to support me if I need it, and be sure to keep your eyes open for the third that Naruto saw."

"What about Izumi?" Naruto asked, "What if she needs help?"

Kyo and Kai winced before exchanging looks. They both knew that Izumi only got really excited when her demonic instincts were riled up, which usually only happened when she was about to fight someone who would give her a good challenge, but ultimately couldn't beat her one-on-one; after all, even demons know you shouldn't start a fight that you can't win, and their instincts reflect that. "She won't," they said together before turning back to the Shark-faced man, who was still grinning at them.

"Alright, are you three finished with your little huddle over there, because I want to get going already," Kisame taunted.

"I'm afraid that you won't be facing all three of them Kisame-san."

Kai froze. The voice wasn't exactly the same, but there was no mistaking the tone, even after three years. Spinning quickly, Kai drew Reimeiken and held it before him, facing the shadowy figure standing just inside the edge of the treeline.

"Ah, Kai," the man said, stepping out to reveal an unfamiliar face to go along with the partly familiar voice, "I see you have truly grown into yourself. You move with your blade much better than you did when last we fought."

Kai's eyes narrowed as he took in his foe. The man had white hair, but didn't look to be more than thirty years old and was sporting a strip of hair on his chin that was just a shaggy as the rest of the hair on his head. He was wearing the standard Akatsuki cloak, but this one was open, revealing a dark grey Haori and Hakama set beneath it with a blood red belt. Sticking out of the opening in his cloak was the hilt of a katana with a black crystal on the pommel.

"Hito," Kai hissed, narrowing his eyes as he raised his Miraigan to level two instinctively. -_Takagoei, stay back unless you see no other choice. I don't want him to know about you if possible, and there's no telling how well he'd be able to react to a stoop, no matter your size.-_

Takagoei sighed in Kai's mind, -_Alright Kai, but I've got my eyes on him.-_

Kai gave his mental assent just as Hito started talking again, "I'm so glad you still recognize me Kai, after all, it has been three long years. I was rather surprised that you were able to avoid me for so long."

Kai couldn't help but taunt the man, "And I see you were forced to switch bodies and join up with the Akatsuki before you could find me, or were you just too afraid to confront me without more backup since you couldn't manage to take me down on your own?"

Hito just laughed, "Ah yes, there's that fire that I have been waiting for. I had hoped that you would have grown into a more formidable opponent since then, and I can only hope that your swordsmanship has improved alongside your skill in pre-battle banter."

Kai sneered at the man before forcing himself to relax again behind his mental shields; he couldn't let Hito rile him up. "Onii-san, we have to be careful of this guy. He's the one I fought back in the Forest of Death during the Chunin Exam and then again in the streets during the invasion. He's definitely no pushover so we have to be careful."

"Ha! There you are Hito. Here to do the boring job then?" Kisame smirked at Kyo, "You see, Hito there joined up with us when he brought us Orochimaru's old ring, and his head, and the only thing that he asked was that we help him catch Naruto's little assassin buddy there. So, while Itachi and I get to have fun wailing on you and your cat-lady, he can't kill either of his opponents, and so can't have as much fun."

Kai turned his full attention back to Hito as Naruto said, "Oh, I remember you now! So then you betrayed Orochimaru and joined up with the Akatsuki?"

Kai rolled his eyes at Naruto's apparent cluelessness, but Hito only chuckled, "Of course you fool. The Akatsuki Leader was kind enough to help me consolidate my hold on Oto after I assassinated Orochimaru, even though it meant delaying their own plans for capturing the Jinchuuriki and free Biju. They were very interested in having the resources of another Shinobi village to call on, even one as small as Oto. Once that was done, they helped me find this body to take over while I waited for my next fight with you. I have been waiting for this moment for the last several years Kai."

"Can we just stop talking and start fighting already?" Kisame shouted, before pointing over toward Itachi and Izumi, who were both just standing there, staring blankly at each other, "Look, Itachi has already got his won. We're falling behind here!"

Kyo narrowed his eyes as he looked at his girlfriend and her opponent before his eyes widened again, "_Mangekyou Sharingan_… Hm… this may be a bit tougher on her than Izumi-chan thought… Naruto, Kai, you two will have to take on Hito then…" he paused for a moment and then gave them a cheery smile, "Don't die." And with that, Kyo swung Goryu to the side and sprang toward Kisame, using his own momentum to add to the force of his blow as it smashed against Samehada.

Naruto shot Kai a look before focusing fully onto their opponent, "What do you think Onii-san?"

Kai stared at Hito, completely without emotion as he fully settled his shields once again, "I'll go in first and you can support me when you see an opening." Without another word, Kai sprang forward, using almost the same move as Kyo did, except with his much smaller sword, only to find his blade easily met by Higureken.

"Come now," Hito mocked as he held his sword in one hand, holding back Kai's strike with apparent ease, "you really didn't think it would be that easy did you?"

Kai just grunted and leapt back, taking his stance once again, "You can't blame a guy for trying." Kai then charged again, at a slower pace than before, and brought Reimeiken up to meet Higureken, sending off a short shower of sparks before pulling the blade back and moving for another strike, that was once again met by Hito's blade, still held in a one handed grip.

"Ah, yes," Hito hummed for a moment after locking his blade with Kai's, "I see that you have indeed improved greatly since last we met. However," Hito's eyes darkened and his face took on a sinister smirk, "I'm afraid it isn't enough." With a grunt and a shove, Hito broke the deadlock and knocked Kai off balance before immediately following up with another strike, aiming to catch Kai across his sword arm and disable him.

He was caught off guard, however, when he heard Naruto's cry of, "Rasengan!" followed by the orange clad Genin rushing in from the side with the Yondaime's famous Spiraling Sphere poised to strike.

Reacting with skill only gained with age, Hito formed a quick chain of seals, somehow unimpeded by his sword, and called out, "_Doton: Doryūheki_," and summoned a thick wall of earth that rose up between Naruto and his elderly opponent just in time to intercept the Rasengan.

Kai, after regaining his balance, was temporarily distracted by the cloud of dust and dirt that filled the air after Naruto's attack hit the wall, and as such only barely reacted in time to the warning his bloodline gave him, only just deflecting Hito's strike away from him once again before he leapt back out of the debris cloud.

The easy way to fight Hito would be to use Reimeiken's elemental forms, but he wanted to keep those hidden from him for as long as possible. There was no telling what Hito would be able to do if he discovered a similar ability in Higureken, and Kai didn't want to risk giving him the inspiration to experiment.

Kai was quickly brought out of his musings when Hito engaged him once more, springing toward him and locking their blades together once again. "Oh yes," Hito sneered, inches away from Kai's face, "not nearly enough."

*RtP*

Izumi looked around her, a bemused expression on her face. She could honestly say that she had never experienced anything quite like the red and black world she found herself in.

"Welcome to the world of the _Mangekyou Sharingan_," Itachi said as he shimmered into view in front of her, "My world…"

"Kind of a screwed up place you've got here Uchiha-san," Izumi said with a smile, "have you thought of hiring an interior decorator? A few lighter colors would really liven this place up."

Ignoring the quip, Itachi gestured towards her and Izumi instantly found herself tied to a cross that apparently appeared out of nowhere. "For the next seventy-two hours," Itachi intoned emotionlessly, "I control your fate."

Izumi pulled at her bonds half-heartedly, "Sorry Uchiha-san, but I'm not into this kinky stuff… unless it's with Kyo-kun… then I could probably be persuaded" she finished with another huge smile, which Itachi showed no reaction to.

"Let's start off with this," Itachi gestured again and a katana appeared in his hand, "for the next twelve hours, I will cut you with this katana and let you bleed until you are on the edge of death before you will be healed… and I will start over again…"

Izumi's eyes narrowed for a moment as Itachi stepped closer and the katana came down for the first cut. Suddenly, just before the blade would have met her skin, it froze in midair.

Itachi looked down dispassionately at his wrist, which had Izumi's tail wrapped around it, preventing him from reaching her with the blade. With a long-suffering sigh, Itachi gestured with his free hand and Izumi's tail was jerked away from the blade and strapped to the cross alongside her body. Izumi only giggled, "Well darn. That's not very sporting Uchiha-san, I can't even fight back now…"

Itachi rolled his eyes before drawing the sword back once more and then bringing it down, only for it to freeze again in the same place as before. No matter how he tried, he couldn't move the blade any closer to her. "How…?" his eyes shot up to hers, only to see her smiling at him again.

"So, that's how it works, eh?" Izumi said, her smile turning to an almost predatory grin as her eyes began glowing. The glow quickly spread to the rest of her body and Itachi could only watch as her demonic chakra rose from her body, prompting him to leap away, completely out of his depth at seeing any opponent able to do anything while in his world of the Sharingan.

Moments later, the cross holding Izumi down dissolved, freeing the hanyo once more. Izumi smirked, her grin definitely predatory now, and waved her right hand out to her side, grasping her scythe as it appeared out of thin air next to her. "I see you've never fought a demon-kin with this technique Uchiha-san, otherwise you would have known that we can use our chakra to mimic the semi-demonic energies your Sharingan creates to manipulate things in this world."

"I see," Itachi grimaced slightly before his katana vanished, only to be replaced with a much shorter wakizashi that he held in an easy grip before settling into a basic Kenjutsu stance, "then this fight has just become much more interesting."

*RtP*

Kisame was having a ball. It had been a long time since he had fought anyone who could come near to matching him in his chosen art of huge-weapon Kenjutsu, and this Kyo guy was living up to expectations that the shark man didn't even know he had! Each strike was countered on both sides, which only increased the shark man's bloodlust, causing him to put that much more force behind his blows, anxious to find this new opponent's breaking point and yet dreading it at the same time as it would mark the end of one of the most entertaining fights he had had in a while.

Yet for every good point, there was a bad. Even though rational thought was just a hair away from being beyond him in his excited state, Kisame had noticed that Itachi's Three-Seconds-and-You-Lose Sharingan Technique was taking much more than three seconds. In fact, the rogue Uchiha seemed to be straining in ways that he had never been before while using the Tsukuyomi if the additional stress lines on his face and the accompanying trails of sweat coming from his brow were any indication. Something must be going wrong in there…

Kisame was jerked from any further though on the matter when his opponent introduced another element to their battle with a cry of, "_Hyoton: Kongouseki Shippuu!_"

*RtP*

Kyo was pushed to his breaking point and beyond. Never before had he faced an opponent who was capable of putting as much strength behind his blows as Kisame could, and he only seemed to be getting stronger!

Noticing a slight distraction in his opponent's eyes, as if he wasn't focusing entirely on the battle, Kyo pushed away from their latest deadlock and pulled some senbon from his bracer-pocket before forming a quick chain of seals, "_Hyoton: Kongouseki Shippuu!_" He threw the senbon at Kisame with a small grunt of exertion and smiled when he saw the man's eyes widen momentarily before narrowing in disgust and easily deflecting the needles with Samehada, while remaining ignorant of the needles of ice forming around him.

Or at least, that's what Kyo thought. Kisame's look of disgust transferred into a smug look of satisfaction before he shifted his grip on Samehada and swung it around him, moving it behind his back and around to the other side before halting the blade back it its original position after completing its orbit of its wielder.

Kyo was confused, "And what exactly was that supposed to do…?" Then he noticed that his ice needles weren't there anymore.

"You think I couldn't sense your attack forming around me?" Kisame's smirk grew wider still, "Samehada is a special blade for two reasons: one, it can absorb chakra and feed it to me, making Jutsu next to useless against me… by the way, here's your chakra back! _Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu!_"

Kyo was forced to dodge to the side to avoid the shark-shaped water projectile and only barely managed to avoid the thrust from Samehada, letting the blade extend next to him as Kisame appeared, still smirking, in front of him. "The second special feature of Samehada is that it doesn't cut… IT SHAVES!" Kisame roared before jerking his blade back toward him, drawing the scaled blade's flat side along Kyo's left arm and tearing through his clothing and into the skin beneath it.

The sight and smell of blood only served to excite the shark man even further…

*RtP*

Kai panted as he stood next to Naruto and glared at their opponent. He heard Kyo cry out and spared the man a glance to see Kisame's blade glistening with Kyo's blood from the wound on his shoulder but knew that there was nothing he could do to help his sensei at this point. Between the two of them, Kai and Naruto were only barely holding Hito off, and he knew that there was no way the Naruto could do the same on his own. Besides that, Kai was certain that the body-switching Otokage was only playing with them, and if Kai tried to help Kyo, he would stop playing and move to finish the fight.

"Onii-san," Naruto whispered, "what about the _Rasengori_?"

Kai immediately shook his head, "We're not ready for it yet Naruto. Our timing in still off…"

"Bull!" Naruto near shouted, causing Hito to quirk an eyebrow from across the field, "It is too ready! We can do this!"

"Naruto…" Kai growled before he thought better of it, what was there to lose at this point? "Ugh… Fine, I don't like it, but we'll give it a shot; besides, what harm can it do?"

"That's the spirit!" Naruto cheered, smiling once more as Kai leapt back into position and sheathed Reimeiken before bracing himself.

Kai took a deep breath and let it out again before looking up and focusing on his target, seeing Naruto forming a Rasengan ahead of him and holding it out with this right hand, angled down and back, just as they had practiced. With another breath, Kai made his three seals, chanting mentally, "_Ushi, Usagi, Saru,_" then, bracing his left wrist with his right hand, Kai let his chakra flow into his palm, "_Chidori!_"

"Oh?" Hito mocked as the technique's signature chirping sound echoed around the clearing, "This trick again? I'm rather disappointed Kai; your friend already tried this with his attack, and I can see that yours is very similar. And a two-prong attack won't work either. All I have to do is make two barricades and I'll be fine, see? _Doton: Doryūheki!_" Kai only watched as the two walls formed roughly ten feet in front of Hito before looking back at Naruto and nodding after catching his eye.

Charging forward with a chakra boosted leap, Kai met Naruto and easily matched his speed, the two techniques merging seamlessly when the two met. Kai shook off his amazement when the technique worked and smirked as Naruto shouted out, "Take this you creepy old guy!"

Then together, just as the two thrust their combined attack at the first wall, they cried out, "_Rasengori!_"

With a sharp crack, the first wall splintered and fell before the power of the technique. The second wall only held for a second longer than the first and the two Konoha Shinobi charged out of the cloud of dust and toward the now wide-eyed Hito. For his part, Kai was surprised that the two had managed to maintain the integrity of the Rasengan-shell through those two walls, although Hito may not have used as much chakra on them as he would have if he had been taking them seriously.

With a sneer, Hito charged Higureken with chakra and, still in his one-handed grip, moved the flat edge of the blade down to intercept the semi-volatile _Rasengori_ sphere as Kai and Naruto thrust it toward him.

At first, Kai and Naruto felt Hito's guard failing before their attack, but then the man placed his free hand on his blade and braced himself further, completely halting their progress. A moment later, Hito, now with an uneasy look in his eyes, shifted his grip once more, transferring all of their forward momentum down, and driving the _Rasengori_ into the ground, sending all three Shinobi flying back in the resulting explosion and shockwave.

Kai and Naruto landed fairly close to each other and regained their feet easily, immediately looking around frantically for Hito. "You fools!" Hito shouted, drawing their attention to where the man was doubled over, his Akatsuki cloak shredded and his body covered in cuts from the stone shards send airborne by the deflected attack and resting his weight on Higureken, which he had planted in the ground, "How dare you!"

"GAH!" Naruto grunted before turning to Kai, "Will nothing stop this guy?"

Kai sighed, "Probably nothing short of killing him…"

Naruto's face firmed up, "Alright then, I guess it's time to show you a little of what I picked up during the three years you were gone." Naruto then brought his hands together into a seal and began focusing his chakra.

Almost immediately, Naruto's normal blue chakra changed to red and Kai saw his friend's whisker marks deepen as his eyes took on a feral, red appearance and slit pupils.

Hito, seeing this, immediately sprang up, appearing before the two before either could react, "Oh no you don't! _Gogyo Fuin_!"

Naruto immediately lost his red aura and his eyes and whisker marks changed back to normal as he lost consciousness just as Hito kicked him away before shifting and kicking Kai in another direction. "Now, now," Hito taunted as the crystal on Higureken's pommel lit up, refilling Hito's depleted chakra reserves and allowing him to stand on his own again, "we can't have any of that."

Kai knew what Naruto had been trying to do, and cursed when he realized that Hito had sealed off the Kyuubi's chakra, the shock of which had knocked Naruto out. He knew how to release the seal, but getting over to Naruto would be a problem with Hito in between them, and there was no guarantee that Naruto would wake up immediately when he was unsealed."

His face remaining neutral, Kai drew Reimeiken once more. He knew his chances of beating Hito alone were about as good as he had placed Naruto's at earlier…

*RtP*

Some distance away, Kakashi sighed as he closed the cap on his canteen after lifting it from the stream. What had started out as a fairly normal mission, albeit with a slight twist at the end, was much more complicated than he had initially thought.

Though he didn't think Sasuke, Sakura, or Naruto had picked up on it, the Jonin has certainly noticed the tension between Kai and his two former mercenary companions, though he didn't know what the cause could have been. The three of them had spent so much time together before Kai's return to Konoha that it was highly unlikely to be anything that wasn't serious. If only he could find out what was wrong, maybe there was something that…

Before Kakashi could think any further down that particular road he sensed a moderately large chakra signature coming their way, seemingly following the stream they were at. With a quick glance, he saw that Sasuke and Sakura had noticed it as well and were moving into a standard combat formation with him at point. Pushing down a momentary feeling of pride in how far the two had come, Kakashi turned back toward the signature in time to see a woman emerge from the treetops and land several yards away from him.

"Hey," the stranger said with a cheery wave, "if I'm seeing your Hitai-ate right, you are form Konoha, yes?"

Kakashi nodded slightly hesitantly, keeping his body tense as he examined the woman before him, dressed in a dark red top with deep brown vest and pants and a weapon pouch on her right hip. She had an opened Fuma Shuriken strapped to her back but made no move to pull it out, which relaxed the Jonin only marginally.

"Great," she said with a smile that somehow grew even larger, "then would you happen to be part of the Konoha team sent to rendezvous with me and escort me back to the village?"

Kakashi gave a small start, "And you would be…"

"Oh," the woman said with an embarrassed chuckle, "sorry about that. I'm just excited to be seeing Kai and Ushina again is all… My name is Seijitsu Yue. Hmm… and if I remember correctly from when I was last in Konoha… you would be Copy Nin Hatake Kakashi, Sasuke Uchiha, and Haruno Sakura. You were all members of Kai's old Genin team, right?"

Kakashi gave another nod as he relaxed, sending a wordless signal to the other two to stand down as well, although it seemed as though Yue picked up on it nonetheless. "Sorry about that," Kakashi said with an eye-smile, "I didn't recognize you and-"

"Not to worry," Yue interrupted, "it was years ago when last we met and we didn't really spend much time with each other anyway. But enough about that, where is Kai? I thought he was supposed to come with you."

Kakashi gestured to the water nearby, "We were merely refilling our canteens. The rest of the group, Kai included, is back at our camp. If you wish, we can head there now."

Yue merely nodded before gesturing for him to lead and leaping after him into the trees with Sasuke and Sakura wordlessly exchanging a glance before falling into escort positions flanking her.

*RtP*

Kai grunted as he blocked another strike from Hito's blade. It was bad enough when Naruto got sealed, but now Kai was covered in myriad cuts and welts from poor or just unsuccessful blocks. If there was one thing that Kai knew about Hito, it was that the man was a VERY skilled swordsman.

In fact, Kai's skill was only enough to keep Hito from ending the fight immediately. Just as Kisame had said, Hito wanted Kai, and he certainly wouldn't want him seriously wounded, so that meant he had to pull his punches quite a bit, but even this handicap only served to balance the playing field a bit more, with some weight still on Hito's side.

And when you add into that Hito's incessant taunting… well, Kai was already actively blocking that out as it had even started to get to him through his mental shields.

It also didn't help that Kanba kept nearly demanding that Kai let him come out to help, but he didn't want to reveal any of his extra surprises. Besides that, the young Tokubetsu Jonin was counting on the Demonic horse to be a kind of trump card should the worst come to pass. If Hito managed to subdue Kai and take over his body, Kanba would be able to exert his own influence and may even manage to kill the body snatching old man before he got a true hold over his new body.

No, the less he revealed in his battle with Hito the better because if the old man knew all his tricks, then all would be lost.

Kai's loss of focus cost him once again as Hito brought their weapons into a deadlock, "What's the matter you foolish boy, are you having too much trouble now that your annoyingly orange friend is out of the fight?"

Kai grit his teeth and only pushed back harder. He would not respond to the man's taunt, that would just be a waste of his breath at this point. He had a passing thought of trying to get the man monologuing again and taking advantage of the moment, but the thought was immediately forgotten when Hito shifted his grip, sending their two swords up over their heads, still in a deadlock, and driving his knee into Kai's stomach.

With a smirk, Hito hopped back from the close contact and spun into a kick, driving the heel of his right foot into Kai's face and sending the boy flying. The fight had been amusing, if only barely, but it was now time to end it.

Hito flashed through a quick chain of seals before extending his right hand toward Kai. This Jutsu didn't have a name really, having been created by him for the express purpose of overloading the target's nervous system with an electrical charge, knocking them out for easy capture. He had long since stopped naming his creations by the time this one came up, but it was certainly one of his favorite, and with Kai stunned as he was, there was very little chance of him avoiding it as even a block would allow the current to flow through his body and achieve the same result as a full on hit. Hito smirked and merely let out a derisive, "You foolish boy…" before releasing the technique and sending the bolt of lightning straight at Kai.

Kai received the warning from his Miraigan leaving him just enough time to act. He was still winded, which really removed any possibility of him moving out of the way, but he could still control his chakra due to the long and hard drills in a similar condition that Kyo and Izumi had put him through during their time together.

With a mental grimace, Kai thrust Reimeiken forward and channeled his natural lightning element chakra through the blade, instantly changing it into its double-bladed form with a flash and safely absorbing the technique Hito had fired at him.

For his part, Hito was rather shocked. Somehow the boy had stopped his technique and changed his own sword into another form. It would seem as though the upstart still had a few tricks up his sleeve…

Kai slowly pulled himself to his feet and glared at Hito before shifting his stance and holding the Raiton Reimeiken before him. "Now for Round 2!" he shouted before launching himself back at Hito and engaging him in Kenjutsu once more.

*RtP*

Itachi stood within his world of the Mangekyou Sharingan panting. Well, he could not exactly call this _his_ world as such seeing as this strange cat-featured woman he was fighting had just as much control over it as he did. She had even changed half of the surroundings from red and black to a much brighter pink and yellow, Kami only knew why she chose those colors though…

Izumi merely smiled at the Uchiha before brandishing Katsuya and leaping once more at him with a demented chuckle, "Come on Uchiha-san, stop dodging. I'm only trying to further the cause of science!"

Giving into temptation at her rather ridiculous assertion, Itachi sighed, "and how exactly are you doing that?" as he leapt away from yet another downward strike from her scythe, only to immediately duck as she used her power to manipulate reality and place herself behind him for a decapitating swing.

Izumi paused as Itachi rolled away and sprang back to his feet, slightly disappointed that he wasn't manipulating this Sharingan world the same way as she had been, it would make this fight SO much more fun. Perhaps he didn't have quite the same amount of control over the near-demonic energies needed to do so that she had naturally as a hanyou. With a mental shrug Izumi hefted her weapon of choice onto her shoulder and lifted her free hand into the air, one finger extended as she spoke in a faux-intellectual voice, "I am merely trying to prove or disprove if the human small intestine is really twenty feet long. Since we are in an alternate world where any and all things are possible with the right amount of concentration and the proper energies, it would be easiest to do it here where the mess can then be cleaned up and all damage repaired." Izumi's face suddenly contorted and she began tapping her lips with her fingertip, a look of contemplation on her face, "Or I could just leave you that way, seeing as you are my enemy and all… hmm…"

Itachi couldn't help the sweatdrop that slid down his back. Not only was his opponent able to manipulate his Tsukuyomi, but apparently she was a bit off her rocker as well. However, her speech, strange though it was, did give the Uchiha a revelation of sorts. They were in an alternate world currently, on he had brought them to in fact, and one where she seemingly had the advantage, able to do things in this world of the Sharingan that Itachi had never even dreamed. But since he had brought them here, he could also take them out, and thus end her advantage.

Before Izumi could resume her attack, the multicolored surroundings she had become familiar with began dissolving, revealing the real world around them once again. She looked over, seeing Kai wielding his Raiton Reimeiken against someone who could only be the third Shinobi Naruto had reported but she hadn't seen before fighting Itachi, the aforementioned orange-clad Shinobi lying unconscious on the ground, and Kyo…

"OMIGODKYOAREYOUALRIGHT!?" Izumi dashed over faster than Itachi could blink and clocked Kisame across the face with a vicious right hook, sending the shark like man flying through several trees and, most importantly for Izumi, away from her mate.

Kyo just smiled slightly as Izumi laid her hands, glowing green with medical chakra, onto his "shaven" shoulder and felt the skin and bared muscle stitch itself back together under her skill. He had spent the last several minutes purely on the defensive as the blood-crazed shark man had begun throwing strikes with his massive weapon strong enough to leave craters three feet deep in the earth. Kyo had found this out when he decided that he should try dodging more than blocking after the first of such strikes nearly buckled his knees and left his good arm creaking while his injured one practically screamed at him in pain.

Kyo's eyes suddenly narrowed and he hefted Goryu around so it was held behind Izumi's back, narrowly blocking Itachi's wakizashi as Izumi finished healing his shoulder. "Now, now Mr. Broody Uchiha guy," he said with a slight smirk, "that wasn't very nice."

Itachi merely jumped back, landing next to where Kisame was once more emerging from the tree line, now not so far into his blood craze as before. "Man," the blue-skinned Akatsuki member said, patting imaginary dust off of his slightly torn cloak, "that catgirl sure does pack a punch. What happened, Itachi?"

The Uchiha just grunted, "Later. For now, let us finish these two and get what we came for."

Kisame nodded, an insane grin once more on his face, "Right."

With that, the two S-Rank Missing Nin charged at Kyo and Izumi, weapons at the ready.

*RtP*

Strike!

Strike!

Block!

Strike!

Dodge!

Counter!

Kai was moving at a rapid pace, chakra flowing through his body to help keep up the speed needed for him to properly utilize his Raiton Reimeiken Kenjutsu style, which had thus far in the fight proven to be the only thing that he could do to keep Hito off balance. And honestly it made sense in retrospect. Kai's regular Kenjutsu style came largely from the implanted memories of Hito himself, so if he had any kind of experience with Kage Bunshin sparing, as Kai knew he did from those same memories, then it would be fairly simple to counteract each of the young Tokubetsu Jonin's moves.

The difference came with the fast paced style that Kai had created/inherited for use with the double-bladed weapon that he now help. As long as he kept moving, or more specifically kept the weapon moving, it was much harder for an opponent unused to fighting against such a style to get through his almost dance-like defense. At the same time, it tended to lend more to defense than offense, so it was fairly similar to defending against a bo staff except you didn't want to try and take a hit to give one seeing as you could end up being bisected with a double-bladed sword.

This meant that the two fighters had been more or less deadlocked for several minutes since Kai had unveiled his weapon's transformation, Hito unable to land any hits yet still easily able to block all of Kai's.

"So, tell me boy," Hito sneered as he blocked another strike, "what type of Jutsu did you use to create this strange weapon?"

Kai merely glared and began pulling his stocked chakra from the gem in the center of the Raiton Reimeiken's grip and letting it enhance his limbs further still, putting more force behind his strikes and making Hito stumble back on the next few blocks. Though his superiors and mentors may not have approved, it turned out that Kai draining his chakra into the sword helped him out in the end after all.

Hito sneered at his opponent's silence and channeled his own chakra into Higureken, "Very well fool, I shall just have to beat the answers out of you!" With that, Hito dodged back and leapt back in with an overhand strike that forced Kai, unable to dodge in time, to abandon his defense and catch it on his weapon with his full strength just to avoid being sliced open.

Hito smirked and kicked Kai in the stomach, sending him out of the deadlock and flying back several yards, miraculously still holding onto his weapon. With a grunt, Kai rose to his feet again, a look of anger and hatred on his face. _'No matter what I do this guy keeps pushing me back!' _Kai thought, _'What the hell _is_ he?'_

_-The most powerful foe you have yet faced, Kai.-_ Takagoei's voice echoed form within Kai's mind despite the fact that Kai had not intentionally sent his thoughts to his companion, -_You shouldn't underestimate him like you have been doing. I know you wanted to keep the secret of Reimeiken from him for as long as you can, especially seeing as he has the brother blade, but now that it's out, there is no reason for you to continue holding back.-_

-_That's just the thing,_- Kai responded, slowly climbing to his feet as Hito watched, seemingly taking pleasure out of Kai's slow rebound, -_You and I both know that I fight the best with the Raiton Reimeiken and he seems to be brushing it off like its nothing. And you know my reasons for not revealing Kanba…-_

_-__**Which I do NOT agree with!- **_came the demon's interjection.

Takagoei seemed to pause for a moment, most likely surveying the battlefield from wherever he was or else holding a private exchange with Kanba, then there was the sound of a mental sigh, -_You can only keep trying Kai…-_

Kai gave a begrudging mental sigh of his own, -_yeah…-_ Then he tightened his mental shields again, throwing off the temporary calm his spirit guardian's words had brought, and focused once more on his chakra jewel in Reimeiken. If he was going to give it his all, he may as well go all out.

With an inarticulate roar, Kai opened another chakra flow and channeled his chakra into the dual blades of his weapon, causing them to begin glowing a light blue with the occasional spark of electricity, and leapt back into the fray as clouds covered the sun, casting all the fighters into the shade.

*RtP*

Still a few minutes away from camp, Kakashi, Yue, Sasuke and Sakura felt a strange pressure come over them.

"What's that Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked from her position still flanking Yue.

"I'm not sure Sakura…" Kakashi paused a moment before signaling a halt and leaping to the top of a nearby tree that stood taller than its brethren. Yue, either unused to Konoha hand signals or uncaring, followed him up and perched on the opposite side of the trunk, both using chakra to hold them in place.

It was Yue that saw it first. "Hey, look over there," she said, pointing to a gathering bank of clouds… one that seemed to be highly localized.

Kakashi paled slightly, "That's where our camp is… I wonder what could cause such strange weather activity…"

"Well whatever it is, I somehow doubt its good. The source of this weird feeling seems to be coming from that direction too." Yue said before releasing her chakra and flipping down to ground level where the other two were waiting, fidgeting slightly in unease.

"It feels like the air is charged or something…" Sakura pondered out loud as Sasuke nodded.

"Well, whatever it is, it's over camp," Kakashi noted as he landed, "we need to get back there. Now." The other three nodded and they leapt back into the trees, chakra flowing through their muscles and sending them along that much quicker.

*RtP*

If anything, the fight between Kai and Hito was even faster now. With the extra chakra the two were channeling both through their weapons and themselves, most people, at least those who weren't highly trained Shinobi or used to extreme speeds, would have only seen a pair of blurs and heard the clash of metal on metal.

The two fighters bounced around the clearing, sometimes dancing near to where Kyo and Izumi were fighting the two Akatsuki members to a stalemate, though none of the fighters paid any more than a passing glance to each other, so focused were they on their own opponents.

Kai knew he was the weak link on the field that day. He knew that if he fell to Hito, then the man would turn on Kyo and Izumi, thus ending their stalemate with Itachi and Kisame and probably ending up with his two friends and mentors dead, or at least critically injured, and Naruto captured right along with him.

He knew this, and it infuriated him.

On top of that was the fact that he still couldn't manage to land a hit on Hito. The man was able to block even his hardest of strikes with his chakra infused blade, all the while taunting him for his inability to bring around the end of the fight despite his, "Foolish attempts with his fancy weapon."

The fact that Hito was similarly unable to hit him never occurred to him, so lost in his anger was he. In fact, deep in the recesses of Kai's mindscape, his well maintained and, most recently, frequently used and reinforced mental shields were starting to crumble; the mere fact that Kai was feeling his anger and frustration at Hito should have been a sign of this, but he was too lost in emotion to care right then.

"Just give up already boy," Hito started taunting once more when the two met in another weapon deadlock, "you know you don't have a chance. If you quit now and surrender to me, I promise that I will allow your companions to live."

Kai merely glowered at him, "Like I believe that Hito-teme! No matter what happens to me, I will never give up! Especially not to you!" Lightning flashed overhead followed by a peal of thunder immediately after before the two pushed away and then reengaged in another flurry of blows.

Strike! "I"

Block! "WILL"

Strike! "NEVER"

Strike! "GIVE" Hito was stumbling back now under Kai's rage filled blows as his weapon began glowing brighter still.

"UP!" With one last blow, Hito's guard broke and the man stumbled back several feet. Before either could react, another bolt of lightning flashed from the clouds above them, this time though, instead of dancing across the surface of the clouds, it struck out toward Kai. When the lightning struck, it hit the back end of the Raiton Reimeiken, the end of it that was angled behind him, and Kai felt his mental shields shatter as the pure power of the lightning flew through his weapon, through his chakra gem and himself as a direct result, and out the other end, right toward Hito.

For his part, Hito barely managed to avoid a direct hit, which would have undoubtedly killed him. As it was, the bolt still winged him before hitting a small outcropping of rock several yards behind him which promptly exploded under the heat generated. The combination of the electrical charge flowing through him, not to mention the burns said charge caused and the paralysis and pain that followed, with the additional small puncture wounds caused by this latest explosion of dirt and stone near him sent Hito to his knees and then into unconsciousness.

Kai, overwhelmed by the surge of energy and the mental strain of his shields shattering followed him shortly after.

*RtP*

Kai found himself in his mindscape with words echoing around him as they had so many times before. _"Wielder of the blade Reimeiken, hear these words as they were spoken by your distant ancestors. It was foreseen when this blade was forged that this last power of Reimeiken would be the most difficult for you to learn to use. The power of the Raiton Reimeiken to create storm clouds above you through chakra alone and then channel the awesome power of the lightning through your attacks. Though lightning is your natural element, the emotional walls you put around yourself kept you from actually using it to its full potential due to the emotional requirement of this rather volatile ability, thus your apparent failure with the Raiton Reimeiken. Until now…_

_ "Know now that you cannot hide behind these shields any more. The power of the lightning, combined with the emotion infused chakra you were fighting with, has permanently destroyed these shields and their foundations. They can never be rebuilt as they once were so it would be a waste of your efforts to try. However, you will soon learn that they are not the only solace you have from your troubles. Know this descendent and take heart, for this phase of your journey is nearly complete."_

*RtP*

Kai gasped as he sat up suddenly, and then groaned as he held his head, suffering from what he felt to be the mother of all headaches.

"Kai!" he heard a familiar feminine voice calling and looked up in time to see Yue running toward him before she slid down next to him and engulfed him in a hug.

"Yue?" Kai questioned momentarily before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her just as tightly.

Then he remembered the battle. With a grunt, Kai pulled himself away from Yue and leapt to his feet, looking around for Hito or the Akatsuki, only finding Kyo, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and an apparently freshly healed and unsealed Naruto staring at him with humor in their eyes, while Izumi seemed to be sulking off to one side.

"What happened to the Akatsuki? And Hito?" Kai asked.

Kyo stepped up as Yue stood and once more hugged him before checking him over for any other injuries. She needn't have bothered, he felt great, most likely because Izumi must have healed him. "Well, Izumi-chan and I were fighting the fish guy and the broody Uchiha guy when they got distracted by a flash of lightning that seemed to be fairly close. They saw something that apparently freaked them out, but since we had our backs to you we don't know what it was. The next thing I know, Kakashi comes flying in and nails Itachi across the face with a kick and the guy calls a retreat. The fish guy grabbed a toasty looking Hito, and they took off. Then you woke up about thirty seconds later."

Kai processed that for a moment and nodded, "so they're gone then?"

Izumi ran up right in Kai's face, "YES THEY'RE GONE! THAT STUPID UCHIHA-SAN WOULDN'T EVEN LET ME GUT HIM! IT WAS IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE!"

Kai smiled sheepishly and slowly took a step back, only to nearly trip over Reimeiken where it was lying on the ground. With another grin, Kai picked up his weapon and sheathed it before sidestepping to see Kyo around the still slightly red-faced and pouting Izumi, "So, now what?"

Kyo gave Kai a look he had come to recognize over the years, the incoming lecture look, "Now, my young student, we are going to talk about what happened in the battle, immediately to be followed by a long overdue talk about you, your emotional barriers, and how you should or should not be using them as well as proper training techniques before we turn rest for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow we will begin heading back to Konoha where the talk may or may not be reviewed along with a more… physical teaching session to follow just to make sure the lesson has sunk in… most likely administered by Izumi as she will undoubtedly have some extra aggression to let out after being ditched by the broody Uchiha guy." Kyo said all of this with a slightly unsettling half-smile on his face.

Kai just gulped. He somehow knew that explaining what he had heard in his Reimeiken vision about his inability to use his mental shields the same way anymore wouldn't help his cause at this point, and so just sighed and nodded his agreement before heading toward Naruto at what would end up being their camp, Yue smiling and shaking her head as she followed him and Kyo, both leaving Izumi to fume while away from anyone that she could injure in her tantrum at the injustice of Itachi Uchiha defying her attempt to further the "Cause of Science."

*RtP*

AN: Yep, Orochimaru is dead. Oh darn, too bad, so sad, who cares, moving on…

I added the "Don't Die" to Kyo's lines as a bit of an afterthought, seeing as Kyo (my brother) says, "K, Bye, Don't Die," whenever his friends are leaving from whatever group he happens to be hanging out with. He uses that instead of, "be careful driving," or whatever… I thought it was rather appropriate, if only just for chuckles.

Jutsu List:

_Shintenshin no Jutsu_: Mind Body Switch Technique

_Rasengori_: No translation, just two words stuck together, credited to Gimble ^_\\

_Chidori_: Thousand Birds

_Kage Bunshin:_ Shadow Clone

_Mangekyou Sharingan_: Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye

_Doton: Doryūheki_: Earth Release: Earth Style Wall

_Hyoton: Kongouseki Shippuu: _Ice Style: Diamond Hurricaine (Original Jutsu by Momotaro Kyo)

_Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu__:_ Water Style: Water Shark Missile Technique

_Ushi:_ Ox

_Usagi: _Rabbit

_Saru: _Monkey

_Gogyo Fuin_: Five-Prong Seal

Now, for the future of this story… As always, I continue to profess that I will not, again WILL NOT, abandon this story. I do my very best not to completely let go of something until it is completely done and I have always had ideas bouncing around my head for this story, mostly for the third fic, even when I wasn't actively working on it.

One such idea struck me some time ago that I was screwing with the storyline so much that I really couldn't use much of anything from Cannon anymore. I mean, I knew this in a subconscious kind of way, but still, it was rather depressing at first. I mean, one thought I had was along the lines of, "What the heck am I gonna do about the rest of the Akatsuki." Obviously they are going to be obstacles in the future for Kai and the others. Not only because Hito is part of the Akatsuki, but also because there is no way Kai would leave his Onii-san to fight against them alone if there was something he could do. It just wouldn't fit his character, angsty though he may be at this point in the story.

Over the next few weeks, that thought led to many other ideas on how to finish several of the Akatsuki, some using previous ideas I had had, basically just fleshing them out a bit, and others being completely new. These ideas and a few others for the third fic, coupled with a slightly more Naruto-centric mindset, led to this chapter being finished and posted.

Anyway, back to the updating thing. It may take me several more years, but this trilogy WILL be finished one day. I look forward to that day eagerly so that I may say that I persevered, even though I have probably pissed off any and all people that have ever read or reviewed my stories. All the same, don't lose hope those of you that are still here, one day, this will be done, and I beg your indulgence until then.

Random note that really has nothing to do with this fic, but I still think is cool. I was doing some homework for an online college class titled "Cyberspace Influence on Privacy, Security, and Society," and as I was going through a chapter on copyright violation and intellectual copyrights I noticed a section on fanfiction. It was titled, "Fanfiction… just let it be…" which I thought was rather funny all on its own. Basically, it says that fanfiction is technically illegal… yeah… since it is Copyright Infringement but many authors and publishers allow it, or rather look the other way, because they recognize that many of us amateur authors are their fans and purchase their stuff anyway. J.K. Rowling was mentioned as an author who said she didn't mind it "as long as it is noncommercial and not pornographic." …well… she obviously hasn't read some of the Harry Potter stories on this site, has she? Lol

For a bit of perspective as to how long this chapter has been on my laptop. I added the above paragraph on a whim after reading the part of the textbook in question… in Spring 2010… yeah…

I honestly can't say when the next chapter will be posted. I'd like to think that I can ride on the momentum of this being completed and posted and hopefully reviewed, but you just never can tell…

Review Please… if anyone is still around anyway… ^_\^


	24. Chapter 23

*RtP*

Chapter 23

*RtP*

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: This chapter may rush through a lot of info, but that is because I am nearing the end of this story. I have the last few chapters planned out, so anything that seems glossed over in this chapter was probably just filler type stuff to tie up loose ends before the end. Either that or it was just where my wandering mind went as the story wrote itself and I didn't feel like fleshing any of it out.

Response to Reviewers:

Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I decide to start responding in PM's, the people who review my chapter I can't send PM's to! O.o. Oh well...

Alicia42: I'm really happy I got it finished and posted too lol. And I checked again a few hours after posting the chapter and realized that I had actually looked at the publish date when I figured up how long it had been. In reality though, i only tacked on an extra year. I checked the date on my individual Word Doc for chapter 21 and it was last edited on May 5th 2010, so it has still been 3 years as I tend to post them as soon as i finish them. And technically, I never went anywhere. i was always here, it just took forever and a year to actually write the chapter. Somehow I doubt I will ever end up leaving fanfiction. I shall probably end up sitting in my space chair fifty years in the future reading the latest fanfiction on my space computer and reminiscing back to the good old days when my hands weren't so arthritic that I could still write my own. lol Thanks for your words of support! ^_\^

*RtP*

If there was one thing good about having a relatively limited Chakra capacity, it was the correspondingly short recover time when one had just returned from a fight where the overall largest debilitation they received was the low chakra levels. Of course, the flip side of that was that you got less sympathy, or at least less time for sympathy, before those in charge started ripping you a new one for whatever boneheaded thing you had most recently done that required said ripping.

These were Kai's thoughts, admittedly influenced by the shouting done at him by Ushina, Izumi, and Tsunade who were doing the aforementioned ripping, while he tried to sink into the floor to get away from the three furious females bearing down on him in the Hokage's office. Of course, even if he did know the late Snake Sannin's infamous ground sinking Jutsu, he couldn't have done anything with it because Kyo was standing just behind him with one hand on his shoulder, probably to prevent just such an escape attempt.

Just as Kyo had warned, the evening after his most recent fight with Hito had been mostly taken up by Kai getting chewed out by Izumi while Kyo sat by with a mild expression on his face and made occasional comments, mostly to get Izumi back on track whenever she went off on a tangent that usually consisted of a great deal of hatred for Uchiha in general and Itachi in particular that merely served to make Naruto laugh and Sasuke to shift uncomfortably.

Initially, Kai had hoped for some salvation from Yue, but once she found out what Kai had been doing with his mental shields, she ended up joining in on Izumi's tirade, which actually helped the Hanyo focus and so resulted in her tangents coming less often. This resulted in Naruto being less distracted by the humor he found in the situation and making a comment about the fight, specifically about the _Rasengori_, that caused Izumi to round on _him_, particularly for using a largely untested Jutsu in the middle of life or death combat. Naruto's protests that it nearly got the guy went completely ignored and Kai knew better than to stick up for his Onii-san by that point in the evening, merely relishing in the temporary hiatus in the Hanyo's assault on his own ear drums.

Finally, salvation came in the most unexpected for of Sakura pointing out the time and suggesting that they turn in for the night and set up watch. Of course, this ended up with Izumi assigning Kai and Naruto the first watch and promising pain to them if they fell asleep at any point before they were to be relieved, exhausted from their fight or not.

The next few days of travel back to Konoha were full of pain for Kai and Naruto both as Izumi, having decided that Kai had recovered enough and knowing about Naruto's Jinchuuriki status, assumed control over Kai's chakra weights and asked (read: "forced") the young Tokubetsu Jonin to make a set for Naruto and took great pleasure in upping the weight whenever she thought they may be adjusting to it, or whenever she felt the urge to see either of them face plant into the dirt, though she was always careful not to take them past their limits, and was equally careful to point this out nearly constantly to Kai in what was probably an attempt to remind him about the risks of over exhausting yourself in training as he has been doing. Sasuke and Sakura were eventually added to this "training" as well when Izumi overheard the young Uchiha making a teasing comment toward Naruto which caused her recent bout of anti-Uchiha anger to flare up again and Kakashi decided to make the entire thing a Team 7 exercise and so volunteered Sakura, much to her displeasure, though in the end she was the most successful as her strength training with Tsunade over the last several years helped her a great deal with the extreme weights… that and the fact that Izumi seemed to like her more, probably because they had some kind of camaraderie since they were both trained by Tsunade.

When they finally arrived back at Konoha, they were immediately rushed to see the Hokage and only an offhanded comment from Kakashi seconded by Kyo got Izumi to remove the excessive weight from the four young Shinobi. Upon arrival in the Hokage's office, Kai found Tsunade staring solemnly from behind her desk while his parents stood off to one side, Ushina with a disapproving stare and Seiru's face blank.

After a short debriefing and general greetings all around to and from Yue, Seiru was sent along with Kakashi and Squad 7 minus Kai to escort Yue to a hotel where she could find a room and relax for a while, leaving Kai alone with Tsunade, Ushina, Kyo, and Izumi, which led to his current predicament.

Seeing Kai's thoughts were elsewhere, Izumi sighed, "He's not listening again Tsunade-sensei."

Tsunade groaned and rubbed her eyes before looking out the window and noting the position of the sun with a start, "Well we have been at this for a number of hours," she mused, "perhaps we should let him head back to his hotel room for now."

Kai immediately shot back to attention when he heard this only to come face to face with a glare from the Godaime, "But if we ever hear of you doing anything so stupid again, rest assured that you _will_ live to regret it."

Resisting the urge to once more state that he couldn't even raise his emotional barriers anymore since, as he had predicted, it hadn't helped him the first time he said so, or the next half dozen during his multiple beratings, Kai merely nodded, "Hai Hokage-sama."

Tsunade nodded and dismissed Kai and Ushina while asking Izumi to stay behind for another discussion, watching as mother and son exited her office.

*RtP*

"Kai," Ushina said softly a few moments after the two exited the Hokage tower, "I wanted to talk to you about you father."

Kai sighed, "I fail to see where there is anything to talk about Kaa-san. I didn't know who he was, and he never got the chance to know me thanks to Hito, so there is no room for grudges or hatred between us due to our first encounter."

Ushina smiled at her son, "Well I'm glad you feel that way Kai, but unfortunately Seiru-kun doesn't see it that way at all." Kai shot his mother a look as she seemed to gather herself, "He feels terrible about the whole thing. Thinking he let you down somehow or something… I don't know…" she trailed off, staring far ahead yet not seeing much of anything.

Kai gave out another sigh, "I can try to talk to him if you'd like Kaa-san. Maybe kick some sense back into him at one of the training grounds." Kai gave a wry smirk, "heck it may even be a fair fight what with me having to adjust back to the lack of my shields now. I may be a bit out of focus."

Ushina laughed and turned to give Kai a warm hug, "Thank you so much my son."

Kai returned the hug, smiling when he suddenly realized he was taller than his mother now, "Not a problem. You just get him to Training Ground 7 tomorrow around noon and I'll kick his butt for you."

Ushina gave out another slightly teary laugh before hugging Kai and parting ways to head for the Hotel she and Seiru were staying in while Kai went the opposite direction to his.

*RtP*

Kai and Seiru did indeed have a meeting of the minds, and fists… and swords for that matter. In the end, the two were fairly evenly matched, though each admitted that neither was on the top of their games. Kai due to his recent mental trauma and Seiru was just out of practice and tone.

The following weeks were some of the best Kai had had in Konoha as he spent them bonding with his lost family. The Wareta clan, such as it was, even went so far as to run a few D-ranks together as they were largely used to help group cohesion in young Genin teams where the member didn't know each other or work together so well. Kai even arranged for the "catch Tora" mission and laughed alongside Ushina as Seiru got scratched up by the most-likely-demonic-in-origin feline.

The only small hiccup for Kai came when the three first started running missions and he realized that his mother was actually _running_ them alongside he and his father. It was with a heavy heart that Kai realized that he must have missed Ushina's operation to repair the damage done to her by Hito and the recovery period afterwards while he was in his mentally blocked emo-zone as Naruto had once put it, though neither of his parents held it against him.

All this time, Ino was hanging around, trying without pause to find the chance to speak to Kai alone so that they could work everything out between them and hopefully gain the happiness they sought, but it never worked out. Not that the young Yamanaka could begrudge Kai his family bonding time, especially with the past that he had, she just wished for a few moments to speak to him alone, that should be all she needed to, if nothing else, make plans for a longer period of time to speak with him later on.

*RtP*

It was a month after the mission to escort Yue to Konoha when the first messengers came in with scout reports of unexpected enemy activity.

It was a mere two days after that when the heads of the first merchant caravan to leave the city since those messengers arrived were found displayed outside the gates of Konoha when they were opened for the morning traffic with an accompanying message warning more of the same to anyone else to leave the village.

It was only a few hours later, at midday, when a messenger from Oto approached the gates and handed off a missive from the Otokage, Zanbifushi Hito, explaining in greater detail the position Konoha now found itself in.

*RtP*

Kai waited in the reception area outside the Hokage's office uneasily, shifting from one foot to the other, all the while wondering why he had been called in.

He, like all other Konoha Nin over Chunin in rank had been informed of the merchants that had been beheaded and displayed, though no one had any idea what the purpose behind it was. The only thing Kai knew was that it couldn't possibly be good, and the fact that he was in the Hokage tower with several prominent Shinobi from his year group supported that assumption.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting, the doors opened and Shizune stuck her head out, calling the group in to see Tsunade. And so Kai now stood at attention in a line with his comrades in arms before their Hokage, whose look more than hinted at the grim situation the Konoha must now be in, the Hokage's assistant who wore none of her usual cheerfulness on her face, and the Sandaime who looked several decades older than he already did, which was quite the accomplishment all things told.

To his left stood Neji and Hinata while to his right were Naruto, Kiba, and Ino, no levity anywhere to be found, not even in Naruto's face as even he could tell this was not a time for joking.

Tsunade stood with a sigh and brandished an opened scroll toward the group before her, "We received this scroll from a messenger bearing the Otokage's seal." Kai stiffened immediately, knowing who that meant. "It states that Otogakure has officially declared war on the village of Konoha and that we have already been surrounded. Completely cut off from allies and supplies."

Kai's eyes narrowed, and gestured for permission to speak. Tsunade nodded and he began, an incredulous tone to his voice, "You mean we are under _siege_? Does Oto even have that kind of manpower?"

Tsunade's face, if possible, became even grimmer, "Under normal conditions, the answer would be yes and no. While they do have the manpower, as most Shinobi villages do, it would seriously deplete their home village's defense, though it would seem that the new Otokage doesn't care much for his people as reports indicate they brought just about everyone our spies have indicated they have. But in any case, while they have the people, they don't have the talent. Being a relatively new village, they don't have the quality of Shinobi that all well established villages do, prime examples of which are here before me; from the newest generation of well established clans to stand outs with no real background who have still sprung to the forefront of their age groups."

"Then what's the problem?" Naruto blurted, getting him a half hearted glare from both present and former Hokage in the room.

"I was getting to that Naruto." Tsunade continued, sitting back down and rubbing her temples, "Normally we would be able to dispatch several groups of elites to cut through several key points in their line, eventually weakening it to the point where they would either have to charge in and break themselves on our defenses or give up and return home. This was, in fact, the plan until I received my most recent report from our scouts early this morning indicating the presence of several figures wearing black cloaks with red clouds spotted amongst the Oto Nin holding the line."

Naruto gave out a hiss, "Akatsuki…"

Tsunade nodded, "Yes, Akatsuki, a group of S-class criminals that, until recently, were thought to have no allegiance to anyone other than themselves, although we probably should have expected something like this seeing as we knew a month ago that the new Otokage was a member," Tsunade explained for the benefit of the Hyuuga, Kiba, and Ino. "So then we turned to the next option, which was to wait out the siege until allies could get here. I had Jiraiya, who luckily arrived a few days before the siege set in, send some toad summons to Sunagakure to request aid and received word that help could be here in a week at best, but most likely closer to two…"

When Tsunade seemed unable to look up from her desk for several moments, Hinata spoke up, "Tsunade-sama… you said that _was_ the next option…"

Tsunade let out a sigh, the frustration showing on her face, "Yes I did. It was discovered not three hours ago that our emergency rations had been spoiled somehow. They were all in storage scrolls in several places throughout the village and somehow the seals were all compromised and the food went bad. We caught and interrogated the saboteurs, only to discover that they had done the same to the majority of the food in civilian stores, restaurants, grocers, or what have you, was also ruined leaving us in no position to wait out any kind of siege.

"Our only option now is to break it ourselves which, with the presence of several S Class Nin among the enemy, is not going to be easy. The plan we have developed calls for the majority of our elite Jonin and ANBU to face off against the Akatsuki members while smaller groups of weaker Jonin and Chunin face the rabble. In the meantime, we plan to send a group directly to their main camp in an attempt to assassinate the Otokage himself.

"You were all chosen for this assassination group because it is not going to be a regular assassination. You are going to have to be a distraction for the rest of our fighters as well as deal with the Otokage and any guards he may have. The idea is to draw attention away from the rest of our people heading out to attack the S-ranks, which will hopefully give them an extra advantage, one which they will sorely need.

"Kai, your presence in the group is obvious as you are the most experienced with the target in particular and assassination is general. Hinata and Neji, your presence is required for the purpose of taking prisoners your Taijutsu will be good for disabling opponents so that we can pick them up after the battle ends and milk them for information, not to mention you will be able to watch out for any unexpected surprises through your bloodline, hopefully with enough time to warn the others. Naruto and Kiba, you are to be the heavy hitters of the group, which may well be needed if for nothing else than to break through the stone wall erected as a defensive barrier around their camp through the use of Doton Jutsu. Ino… you are to assist Kai when he engages Hito. Your clan's Jutsu make for potent distractions if nothing else and may prove to be the deciding factor in the fight against Hito this time."

Neji took a half-step forward, "Hokage-sama, you mentioned that we are to be a distraction as well… how exactly will we be doing this, and why our group? Wouldn't it make more sense for us to go in more stealthily if we are to eliminate their commander?"

Tsunade nodded her understanding at his confusion, along with the additional looks of confusion of the faces of the others once Neji had spoken, "I understand where your confusion is coming from, but that is the interesting part of the plan. You see, and this was suggested by Izumi so Kai probably sees where this is coming from now, if one group acts as a distraction, most enemies won't expect that same group to have such a high profile target, or indeed any objective beyond attracting attention while other units deal with the targets. In this case, we will be doing almost the opposite of what they are expecting."

Kai sighed as he felt a mental nudge from his inner demon, **-Kai…-**

_-Yeah, I know Kanba. I see what Izumi-sensei's idea was.-_ "Hokage-sama," Kai spoke aloud, "I think I know what Izumi's idea is."

Tsunade perked up slightly, "Oh really? Then could you please explain since my old student decided not to elaborate before she vanished off to make her own preparations to, and I quote, 'Once more attempt to further the cause of science?'"

Kai sweatdropped for a moment before speaking, "During my travels with Kyo and Izumi, she and I spent some time with Kanba, the Horse Demon that sealed itself into me. We were attempting to figure out if I could use any of his chakra at all without causing irreparable and crippling harm to myself since my already damaged system is most certainly not adapted to demonic yokai. What we found was that, through the use of certain protective seals and the Katon Reimeiken to help guide Kanba's fire element chakra, we can in fact fight together rather explosively, though it leaves him rather drained for some time afterward. The point is that it is a rather impressive, and attention grabbing, show so we really didn't have any kind of use for it during our regular missions… However in our current situation…"

"It is nearly perfect for what we want to do." Tsunade finished. "How long will it take you to create the proper seals to do this?"

Kai thought for a moment, "If I get some help from Sarutobi-sensei or Jiraiya-sama it shouldn't take more than a few hours."

Tsunade merely looked to her sensei who nodded before nodding herself, "So, it's decided then. The operation will commence tomorrow an hour after sunrise. All of you but Ino are dismissed to make your preparations. Prepare for the worst everyone, and may Kami watch over us all. I shall see you tomorrow morning."

*RtP*

"So what did you want to talk to me about Tsunade-sama?" Ino questioned a few minutes later, after the others had left the room and a silencing Jutsu had been put into place by the Hokage.

Tsunade sighed and ran her hands over her face, "You're not stupid Ino. I know you realize that my excuse for adding you into this group, while true, was a bit weak." Ino nodded, slightly uncomfortable, but said nothing.

"The truth is, I want you there not so much to support Kai against Hito as to address a concern that Kyo and Izumi brought up about him, namely his attraction to you."

Ino blushed, "Hokage-sama, I-"

Tsunade cut her off with a raised hand, "Ino, I know that you have been trying, but the fact of the matter is that Kai is still hiding from it all in an attempt to avoid the issue. He can't hide behind his mental barriers any more so he has been burying himself in reuniting with his parents. I doubt he knows that you and Kiba split up, and he may not even know that you have been looking to speak with him, but the covert attempts must stop. Sometimes you just have to walk up to the guy you're after, grab him by his shirt collar, and kiss him senseless; preferably before he goes out on a life or death mission where any distraction, or in this case lingering issues that recently sent him into a bout of depression, can spell his death. Basically all I have done here is given you an opportunity."

Just like last time she had been in this office with her Hokage, Ino found herself face faulting. What was with this woman and her attempts at relationship advice?

"Seriously though, the fact of the matter is that despite the immense gap between the two as far as chakra goes, Kai is our best bet among those that don't have to be assigned elsewhere to take the Otokage out, and I am taking it upon myself to ensure that he is best prepared to do so."

Ino slowly clambered back to her feet, "So what specifically are you telling me to do Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade smiled slightly and leaned forward, "I am telling you that you need to give your man something to fight for and then cover his ass just to make sure he survives." She gave Ino a conspiratorial wink before sitting straight again and giving a rather fake cough, "For the good of Konoha, of course."

Ino gave a wry smile, "Of course Hokage-sama." She then gave a bow and left the office, intending to go and make her own battle preparations before heading off to find Kai and hopefully straighten this thing out once and for all. She just hoped her previous luck didn't hold true…

*RtP*

AN: I'm not especially happy with this one, but that is probably because it glosses over a lot of stuff that I might have been able to flesh out but just didn't have the desire to. I don't know… I just don't feel comfortable with this one… meh. After doing my beta readthrough I realized that it may be because IT'S SO FREAKING SHORT! Well at least compared to the last few... Its rather average compared to most of my regular chapters from earlier in the story... hmm...

This chapter got pumped out over two days of typing, about four hours or so of work all together interspersed with reading other fics and playing video games. Next chapter should be the final one for Rebuilding the Past unless I decide to post the planned Epilogue as an additional chapter instead of just tacking it onto the end of 24.

With as easy as this one seemed to flow for me compared to the last one, I can only assume that it was either because I was on some kind of a roll and just managed to get this one out before it died off or else I am having a ton of trouble writing fight scenes, which is where the majority of my trouble was on chapter 22. Seriously, the vast part of the delay came from me not being able to work myself up to writing various parts of the fight scene.

Jutsu List:

_Rasengori: _Original Jutsu, combo of Rasengan and Chidori, name made up by a friend

If I am able to keep this roll going then the final chapter should be out before too long, but if my fight scene theory holds true… yeah… it could be a while… we'll just have to find out I guess. ^_\^

Tenstar12


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